Objective To investigate the characteristics of pulse wave velocity(PWV)and heart rate variability (HRV)and evaluate their feasibility in grading the cardiovascular risk in patients with isolated systolic hypertension (ISH).Methods Eighty-nine ISH patients and systolic-diastolic hypertension patients(DH,n=98)admitted in our hospital were submitted carotid-radial PWV(crPWV),carotid femoral PWV(cfPWV)and HRV,ISH patients were categorized depending on their risk grade as:low risk group(n=3),moderate risk group(n=17),high risk group(n=35)and very high risk group(n=34).Results The cfPWV in ISH patients is significantly higher than that of sys-diastolic hypertension group(ISH: 399.6?48.2 vs sys diastolic hypertension:374.3?39.7 cm/s,P0.05).The LF in ISH group are markedly higher than those in DH(ISH:4.35?1.07 log ms~2 vs 3.78?0.82 log ms~2,P 0.05).LF are markedly positive correlated with the degree of the total cardiovascular risk(rs=0.438,P

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the diagnosis of arteriosclerosis in patients with essential hypertension.

METHODSThis study included 771 patients with essential hypertension and 243 healthy individuals, and all the subjects were measured for carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and serum CRP level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The value of CRP in the diagnosis of arteriosclerosis in patients with essential hypertension was evaluated according to the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity was evaluated with cfPWV> or =9 m/s as the golden diagnostic standard.

RESULTSThe hypertensive patients had significantly higher cfPWV and serum CRP concentration than the healthy individuals (16.51-/+1.6 vs 9.81-/+1.1, P<0.001; 4.96-/+1.15 vs 3.52-/+0.33, P<0.001, respectively). CRP showed significant positive correlations to systolic blood pressure (SBP) and pulse pressure (PP) (r=0.584, P<0.001; r=0.624, P<0.001), and when controlled for age, SBP and PP, CRP was found in close correlation to cfPWV (r=0.746, P<0.001). The AUCROC of CRP was 0.907, and the peak point of the ROC curve was 3.85 mg/L, at which point CRP showed a diagnostic sensitivity of 83.9% and specificity of 86.8% with a misdiagnosis rate of 13.2% for arteriosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONSArteriosclerosis and nonspecific inflammation are prevalent in patients with essential hypertension, and CRP with the cutoff value of 3.85 mg/L may serve as a sensitive indicator for arteriosclerosis diagnosis in these patients.

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arteriosclerosis ; blood ; complications ; diagnosis ; C-Reactive Protein ; metabolism ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; blood ; complications ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVETo establish the association between genetic polymorphisms of HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB and risk of developing trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa-like dermatitis (TIMLD).

METHODSSixty-one cases were medically confirmed to have been affected with TIMLD and 60 controls were selected from exposed workers who were free from TIMLD. The TIMLD cases and controls were similar in terms of age, sex, and duration of exposure. DNA was extracted both from the TIMLD cases and controls, HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB loci were amplified by using Touchdown PCR, and the alleles and genotypes were confirmed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and direct sequencing. Finally, the frequencies of HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB variants were compared between the two groups.

RESULTSThe results showed that the frequency of HLA-DMA*0101 and HLA-DMB*0103 alleles was significantly increased in TIMLD patients than in controls (71.3% vs. 55.0% for HLA-DMA*0101; P<0.05) (11.5% vs. 3.3% for HLA-DMB*0103; P<0.05). In addition, the frequency of HLA-DMA*0102-*0102 homozygous genotype was also significantly higher in the controls than in the patients (25.0% vs. 8.2%, P<0.05), whereas the frequency of heterozygous HLA-DMB *0101-*0102 genotype was lower in the patients in comparison with the controls. Conclusion The polymorphisms of HLA-DM may be associated with the susceptibility to TIMLD.

Alleles ; Dermatitis, Contact ; genetics ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; HLA-D Antigens ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Trichloroethylene ; toxicity

OBJECTIVETo investigate the susceptibility of trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa like dermatitis by comparing the frequency of HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB in patients with trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa like dermatitis and in normal controls.

METHODSThe DNA of lymphocytes in 61 patients with trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa like dermatitis and in 60 people as the normal control were abstracted by using touchdown PCR amplification of HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB. Then through restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence base typing, the alleles and genotypes were confirmed. The frequency of HLA-DMA and HLA-DMB in the two groups was compared.

RESULTSThe HLA-DMA*0101 allele frequency in patients with trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa like dermatitis was significantly higher than in the control group (71.3% vs 55.0%, P < 0.05). The allele frequency of HLA-DMA*0103 was significantly higher in the patient group than in the control group (11.5% vs 3.3%, P < 0.05). The ratio of *0102 homozygotes of HLA-DMA*0102 in the patient group was significantly higher than in the control group (25.0% vs 8.2%, P < 0.05). The ratio of *0102 heterozygotes of HLA-DMB*0101 in the patient group was lower than in the control group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe polymorphisms of DMA may be related to the susceptibility of the patients with trichloroethylene-induced medicamentosa like dermatitis.

Alleles ; Dermatitis, Occupational ; etiology ; genetics ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; HLA-D Antigens ; genetics ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Trichloroethylene ; adverse effects

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of losartan on cardiac mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) mRNA in rats after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

METHODAMI was induced in male SD rats by ligation of the left coronary artery. The survived rats were randomly divided into AMI group, losartan group, and sham-operated group. The cardiac functions of the rats were assessed by echocardiogram and hemodynamics, and the contents of angiotensin II (Ang II) and aldosterone (Ald) in the myocardial tissues were determined by radioimmunoassay. The collagen density in the myocardial tissues were calculated by Masson's trichrome staining and the expression of MR mRNA were determined by real-time quantitative fluorescent PCR.

RESULTSBoth the contents of AngII and Ald in the myocardial tissues increased significantly in AMI group compared with those in the sham-operated group (P<0.01). The expression of MR mRNA and collagen density in the myocardial tissues also increased significantly than that in sham-operated group (P<0.01). After four weeks of losartan treatment, the contents of AngII and Ald in the myocardial tissues decreased significantly (P<0.05) and the expression of MR mRNA was also considerably lowered (P<0.01) in comparison with those in the AMI group. Treatment with losartan also resulted in significant decrease of the collagen density in the myocardial tissues.

CONCLUSIONSLosartan may reduce reactive fibrosis not only by attenuating the Ald signaling pathway but also by decreasing the expression of MR.

Aldosterone ; metabolism ; Angiotensin II ; metabolism ; Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers ; therapeutic use ; Animals ; Fibrosis ; etiology ; prevention & control ; Losartan ; therapeutic use ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Myocardium ; pathology ; RNA, Messenger ; genetics ; metabolism ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Mineralocorticoid ; genetics ; metabolism

This study was purposed to investigate the effect of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on proliferation of peripheral blood T lymphocytes, and to evaluate the regulatory role of PGE2 on immunological balance between Th1/Th2 and Tc1/Tc2 lymphocytes. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were stimulated by anti-human CD3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) and anti-human CD28 mAb, and were cultured in the presence of different concentration of PGE2 for 120 hours. The proliferation of peripheral blood T lymphocytes was assayed according to the manufacture protocol of BrdU Kit; the IFN-gamma and IL-4 levels in supernatants cultured for 24, 48, 72 and 120 hours were detected by ELISA; the ratios of CD4+IL-4+ T cells/CD4+ IFN-gamma+ T cells and CD8+IL-4+ T cell/CD8+IFN-gamma+ T cells were determined by flow cytometry. The cells cultured without PGE2 were used as control. The results indicated that (1) with the raising of concentration of PGE2, the inhibitory rate of T cell proliferation in vitro significantly increased (p=0.001). There was significant positive correlation between inhibitory rate of T cells and PGE2 concentration (correlation coefficient=0.889, p=0.000). (2) the difference between the IFN-gamma concentrations in supernatant cultured for 120 and 72 hours in test groups had no statistical significance (p=0.917). The IFN-gamma concentration increased continually with prolonging of culture time in control group (p=0.046). The IFN-gamma concentrations produced at different times in test group were significantly lower compared with those in control group (p<0.05). The IL-4 concentrations produced at different time had no significant change in test groups (p=0.400). The IL-4 concentration in 24 hours in control group was significantly higher than that at 48, 72 and 120 hours in control group (p=0.007, 0.003 and 0.002). After cultured for 24 hours the IL-4 concentration in test group was significantly lower than that in control group (p=0.037), but after cultured for 48, 72 and 120 hours, the IL-4 concentration in test group did not show statistical difference in comparison with control group (p>0.05). (3) the proportions of CD4+IFN-gamma+T cells in test group and in control group had no significant difference (p=0.767). The proportion of CD4+IL-4+T cells in test group was slightly higher than that in control group (p=0.051). The ratio of CD4+IL-4+T cells to CD4+IFN-gamma+ T cells in test group was significantly higher than that in control group (p=0.011). The proportions of CD8+IFN-gamma+ T cells in test group and in control group had no statistical difference (p=0.441). The proportion of CD8+IL-4+T cells in test group was significantly higher than that in control group (p=0.015). The ratio of CD8+IL-4+ T cells to CD8+IFN-gamma+ T cells in test group were obviously higher than that in control group(p=0.038). It is concluded that the PGE2 inhibits the proliferation of T lymphocytes in vitro. PGE2 influences the production of IFN-gamma and IL-4, and significantly influences peak appearance of IFN-gamma produced by T lymphocyte. PGE2 can continuously inhibit the production of IFN-gamma, but its continuous effect on IL-4 is no significant. PGE2 enhances the ratio of CD4+IL-4+T lymphocytes to CD4+IFN-gamma+T lymphocytes and the ratio of CD8+IL-4+T lymphocytes to CD8+IFN-gamma+T lymphocytes, and regulates development of T cells toward Th2/Tc2 cells.
Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dinoprostone ; pharmacology ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Lymphocyte Activation ; drug effects ; Lymphocyte Count ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; drug effects ; immunology ; Th1 Cells ; drug effects ; immunology ; Th2 Cells ; drug effects ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the types of lipid disorder and its relationship with macrovascular diseases and insulin resistance in Chinese diabetic patients.

METHODS2,430 diabetic patients finished the diabetes complications assessment and were surveyed on their blood lipids, insulin level and macrovascular diseases. The insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) was calculated based on HOMA model.

RESULTSPrevalence of lipids disorder was as high as 63.8% in this group, including 23.9% with both hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia (HY-C-T), 16.1% with hypercholesterolemia only (HY-C), 15.0% with hypertriglyceridemia only (HY-T), 5.5% with lower HDL level (L-HDL), 3.3% with hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and lower HDL level together. Compared with the patients with normal lipid level (control group), no duration differences existed among these groups. There were more female patients in HY-C and HY-C-T groups. BMI and WHR were higher in all groups with lipid disorder except in HY-C group. Macrovascular diseases were more common in HY-C-T patients than in control group (33.6% vs 24.0%, P < 0.001). Average blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension were significantly higher in HY-C-T, HY-C, HY-T groups than in control group (139/79, 138/76, 134/77 vs. 132/75 mmHg; 53.2%, 50.1%, 46.2% vs. 39.2%). Fasting insulin level was significantly higher in HY-C-T and HY-C-T-L-LDL groups than in controls. Insulin resistance was more severe in all patients with lipid disorder except in L-HDL group, particularly in the HY-C-T-L-HDL group.

CONCLUSIONS(1) BMI, WHR increased significantly with the severity of lipid disorder. (2) Nearly two thirds of Chinese diabetic patients have lipid disorder, which is the strong risk factor of macrovascular diseases and aggravates insulin resistance. (3) There was severe insulin resistance in patients with hypertriglyceridemia or with hypertriglyceridemia plus other lipid disorder.

Adult ; Aged ; China ; epidemiology ; Diabetes Complications ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; etiology ; Diabetic Retinopathy ; etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Hypertension ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Insulin Resistance ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of morinidazole combined with appendectomy in treating purulent or gangrenous appendicitis.Methods Double-blind randomized controlled multicenter clinical trial was designed and conducted.Totally 437 patients were included,219 in the control group and 218 in the experimental group.Cases of purulent or gangrenous appendicitis were enrolled and assigned to each of the two groups.The control group received ornidazole injection for 5 to 7 days while the experimental group received morinidazole injection.Both groups underwent appendectomy.Clinical response,micrombiological outcomes,overall response were evaluated.Adverse events and side effects were recorded.Results No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding the clinical healing rate at 5-10 days after medicine withdrawal,anaerobia clearance and overall healing rates.Adverse events occurred in 140 patients (32.1％).Incidence of adverse events in the control group and the experimental group was 34.7％ and 29.4％,respectively (P ＞ 0.05).The overall incidence of side effects was 15.1％ (66 cases).Side effects were less seen in the experimental group compared with that in the control group (11.5％ vs.18.7％,P ＜ 0.05).The most frequent side effects were aminotransferase rising,thrombocytosis,nausea,vomiting and electrocardiographic abnormality.Conclusions The effect of morinidazole plus operation was comparable with ornidazole in treating purulent or gangrenous appendicitis.The safety of morinidazole is better than ornidazole.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the clinical features of occupational chronic toxic peripheral neuropathy caused by1-bromopropan( 1-BP). METHODS: Clinical data of 4 patients who suffered from occupational chronic toxic peripheral neuropathy caused by 1-BP were collected for retrospective analysis. RESULTS: The 4 male patients were ultrasonic cleaning operation workers in a hardware vacuum coating enterprise. They were exposed to high levels of 1-BP for 9-11 months. The main clinical manifestations were varying degrees of sensory disorder and dyskinesia. The main symptoms were progressive increase of numbness and fatigue in the lower extremities. These symptoms might be accompanied by unsteady gait.Physical examination showed muscle strength weakness in the double lower limbs. The hypalgesia,pselaphesia,topesthesia and pallesthesia decreased in the double lower limbs or 4 limbs. The bilateral achilles tendon reflex mainly showed reduced or disappeared. One case had sensory ataxia. Electroneuromyography examination showed different levels of peripheral nerve damage among the cases. The motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity reduced commonly. The axon and myelin sheath damage were visible. On the basis of GBZ / T 247-2013 Diagnosis of Occupational Chronic Toxic Peripheral Neuropathy Caused by Chemicals,these cases were diagnosed as occupational chronic toxic peripheral neuropathy caused by 1-BP. CONCLUSION: Long-term exposure to high level 1-BP can lead to chronic poisoning with peripheral nervous system damage. The diagnosis can be made based on the 1-BP exposure history,clinical features and the neurogenic damage found in electroneuromyography examination.

Objective: To evaluate the prognostic significance of early phase full donor chimerism (FDC) after myeloablative allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (allo-PBSCT). Methods: The clinical data of 72 hematological patients received myeloablative allo-PBSCT from Feb. 2016 to Jul. 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. The median age was 36.5 years (range 4-59), 44 were males and 28 females. Of the donors, there were 35 HLA matched sibling donors, 27 haploidentical donors and 10 unrelated donors. Polymerase chain reaction amplification of short tandem repeat sequence (PCR-STR) was used to detect donor cell chimerism (DC) rate of recipient bone marrow at one, two and three months after transplantation. Results: The median follow-up was 462 d (range: 47-805 d), 55 cases were still alive, and 45 cases were disease-free survival (DFS) at the end of follow-up. The 2-year overall survival (OS) and DFS were (68.9±7.7)% and (59.5±6.3)%, respectively. A number of 16 cases underwent relapses, with 2-year cumulative incidence of (24.1±5.3)%. The median time of recurrence was 157(32-374) d. Forty cases (55.6%) developed acute graft-versus-host diseases (aGVHD), with median time of 35.5 (13-90) d. Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) occurred in 23 patients (31.9%), with median time of 169 (94-475) d. Univariate analysis found the following factors were not related to OS, DFS or relapse rate (RR), including age, sex, blood type and sex of donor-recipient, occurrence of aGVHD and cGVHD. The OS and DFS in cases reached FDC and no FDC at two months after transplantation were (85.2±6.9)% vs (66.1±7.7)% (P=0.051) and (76.7±7.7)% vs (48.9±8.1)% (P=0.021), respectively. The RR rate in FDC group was lower than that in no FDC group [(16.6±6.8)% vs (30.4±7.8)%, P=0.187, respectively]. Conclusion: The present study confirmed the important value for predicting the prognosis with whether or not the patients reached FDC at the early phase after allo-PBSCT. The OS and DFS in cases with FDC at two months after transplantation were significantly higher than those of no FDC patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Chimerism ; Female ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult