Adenoma, Pleomorphic ; Aged ; Humans ; Male ; Nasal Cavity ; Nose Neoplasms

Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pierre Robin Syndrome ; diagnosis ; physiopathology ; therapy ; Prognosis

Adult ; Antiviral Agents ; therapeutic use ; Colonic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Cyclosporine ; adverse effects ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Female ; Ganciclovir ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; adverse effects ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; adverse effects ; Liver Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Liver Transplantation ; adverse effects ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Middle Aged ; Pharyngeal Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; etiology ; therapy ; Survival Analysis ; Tacrolimus ; adverse effects ; Time Factors

Objective To report specific clinico-radiological syndromes in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE).Methods Ten patients with NPSLE in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2005 to 2011 were studied retrospectively with magnetic resonance imaging, computer tomography or positron emission tomography. Results Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome was diagnosed in 2 patients with radiological features,headache and tonic-clonic seizure;3 patients with bilateral diffuse leukoencephalopathy,cognitive disorder and acute confusional state; 1 Fahr' s disease patient,with cognitive disorder and psychiatric symptom,movement disorder; 2 Parkinsonism patients with tremor and cogwheel rigidity,and 2 chorea patients. Conclusions The emergence of diffuse brain calcinosis,leukoencephalopathy and edema may happen in lupus encephalopathy particularly.Autoantibody reaction and vascular disease may play an important role in movement disorder including Parkinsonism and chorea.

Objective To set up a system in vitro to rapidly recover plasma proteins lost during artificial-liver treatment.Methods The polyprotein precipitation was obtained by all proteins whose isoelectric point pH value were between 7.3 and 5.1,which collided with each other and aggregated using gradient pH co-precipitation(adding 1 mol/L citric acid slowly in the plasma solution to change the pH values gradually from 7.3 to 5.1 in 5 h)combined with salting out(degree of saturation of NaCl is 33%,reacted for 5.5 h at 4℃)or low-temperature ethanol precipitation(40% ethanol, reacted for 5.5 h at -7℃)so that to get rid of toxicants by discarding the supernatant.Results In the range of pH 5.1-7.3,50%(29g/57g)of the total plasma proteins had been recovered by the gradient pH salting out and 41%(25 g/61g)by the gradient pH low-temperature ethanol co-precipi- tation.The protein remained in the supernatant was mostly albumin and its combined bilirubin.The levels of total bilirubin decreased to 0.07% and 0.06% of the original levels by these two methods respectively and the serum HBV DNA level decreased to be undetected(quantitative PCR).Conclu- sions The proteins with close isoelectric point can co-precipitated with the presence of high concen- tration of NaCl or low-temperature ethanol and by changing the pH value gradually.The total protein in the discarded plasma during artificial-liver treatment can be recovered rapidly using the gradient pH coprecipitation.

Artemisnin is a novel sesquiterpene lactone with an internal peroxide bridge structure, which is extracted from traditional Chinese herb Artemisia annua L. (Qinghao). Recommended by World Health Organization, artemisinin is the first-line drug in the treatment of encephalic and chloroquine-resistant malaria. In the present study, transgenic A. annua plants were developed by overexpressing the key enzymes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of artemisinin. Based on Agrobacterium-mediated transformation methods, transgenic plants of A. annua with overexpression of both HDR and ADS were obtained through hygromycin screening. The genomic PCR analysis confirmed six transgenic lines in which both HDR and ADS were integrated into genome. The gene expression analysis given by real-time quantitative PCR showed that all the transgenic lines had higher expression levels of HDR and ADS than the non-transgenic control (except ah3 in which the expression level of ADS showed no significant difference compared with control); and the HPLC analysis of artemisinin demonstrated that transgenic A. annua plants produced artemisinin at significantly higher level than non-transgenic plants. Especially, the highest content of artemisinin was found in transgenic line ah70, in which the artemisinin content was 3.48 times compared with that in non-transgenic lines. In summary, overexpression of HDR and ADS facilitated artemisinin biosynthesis and this method could be applied to develop transgenic plants of A. annua with higher yield of artemisinin.
Artemisia annua ; genetics ; metabolism ; Artemisinins ; metabolism ; Biosynthetic Pathways ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Mixed Function Oxygenases ; genetics ; Oxidoreductases ; genetics ; Plant Proteins ; genetics ; Plants, Genetically Modified ; genetics ; metabolism ; Plants, Medicinal ; genetics ; metabolism

Adenocarcinoma ; metabolism ; pathology ; Chromogranin A ; metabolism ; Colonic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; methods ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen ; metabolism ; Staining and Labeling ; methods ; Vimentin ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo observe the effect of Tangke Decoction (TD) on the expression of TGF-beta1/Smad4 of rats with early diabetes and to explore the effect and mechanism of TD against the renal injury induced by diabetes.

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into the normal control group (n = 12), the model group (n = 10), the Chinese herbs prevented group (n =10), the Chinese herbs treated group (n = 10), and the Western medicine control group (n = 10). TD (18 mg/kg) was given by gastrogavage to rats in the Chinese herbs prevented group immediately after successful modeling for 12 weeks, once daily. At the 4th week of successful modeling, rats in the rest 4 groups were administered by gastrogavage. Equal volume of normal saline was given to rats in the model group and the normal control group. Benazepril suspension (1 mg/kg) was administered by gastrogavage to rats in the Western medicine control group for 8 weeks, once daily. TD (18 mg/kg) was given by gastrogavage to rats in the Chinese herbs treated group for 8 weeks, once daily. The body weight, kidney weight, index of kidney weight, fasting blood sugar, 24 h urinary albumin excretion rate were examined after experiment. The pathological changes of the renal tissue were observed by HE staining, Masson staining, and electron microscope. The expression of renal transforming growth factor-beta1, (TGF-beta1) and Smad4 were detected using immunohistochemical assay.

RESULTSCompared with the normal control group, the body weight of rats decreased significantly; the kidney weight, index of kidney weight, blood sugar, 24 h urinary protein excretion, the urinary albumin excretion rate,TGF-beta1 and Smad4 expression increased significantly in the model group (all P < 0.01). Compared with the model group, the aforesaid indices were improved in each treatment group with statistical difference (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Compared with the Western medicine control group, the kidney weight, index of kidney weight, blood sugar, 24 h urinary protein excretion, and the urinary albumin excretion rate were obviously improved in the Chinese herbs prevented group (P < 0.01). The renal pathological changes were most obvious in the model group significantly, but they were improved in all treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONTD could obviously improve the symptoms of diabetes and down-regulate the expression of renal TGF-beta1 and Smad4 of early diabetic nephropathy rats, which suggested that TD had certain preventive effect on early diabetic nephropathy.

Animals ; Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Kidney ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Smad4 Protein ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism

Objective To explore the value of SOD activity in diagnosis of central nervous system leukemia (CNSL )by detec-ting SOD activity of cerebrospinal fluid of patients with CNSL .Methods The cerebrospinal fluid of 55 patients from department of hematology of Nanfang hospital of southern medical university were collected from January 2008 to January 2009 ,in which 30 pa-tients suffered with central nervous system leukemia (CNSL group) ,the other 25 patients suffered with acute leucemia without im-paired central nervous system(control group) .The SOD activity of cerebrospinal fluid was detected by the xanthine oxidase meth-od ,while the routine test ,biochemistry test and cell smear of cerebrospinal fluid was detected .Results There were statistics differ-ence in the level of white cell and protein in cerebrospinal fluid between CNSL and control group (P<0 .05) ,but with no difference in the level of cerebrospinal fluid pressure ,glucose ,chlorine(P>0 .05) .There was statistics difference in the level of SOD activity between CNSL and control group(P<0 .05) .The white cell quantity and the protein level in cerebrospinal fluid had negative corre-lation with the activity of SOD ,(r=0 .871 ,P=0 .000 ;r=0 .518 ,P=0 .003) .The activity of SOD in the cerebrospinal fluid had sta-tistics difference before and after intrathecal chemotherapy (P<0 .05) .The activity of SOD in the cerebrospinal fluid whose under 45 year-old (755 .64 ± 345 .77) ,which was significant lower than that of the paitents whose equal with or above 45 year-old (1 420 .49 ± 307 .69)(P<0 .05) .Conclusion The changes of the SOD activity in the cerebrospinal fluid had relation with central nervous system leukemia ,and the SOD activity might be a auxiliary diagnosis index used in central nervous system leukemia by revi-sing age factor .

ObjectiveIn an attempt to clarify the usefulness of combined nerve and muscle biopsy in the diagnosis of neuromuscular disease when compared with traditional sural nerve biopsy.Methods Fifteen biopsies of superficial peroneal nerve (SPN) and peroneus brevis muscle ( PBM ) by one incision performed within one neurological clinic were reviewed.All patients had peripheral neuropathy while 3 of them had myopathy clinically.The diagnostic significance of SPN and PBM biopsies were classified into 3 grade: essential,helpful,no value.ResultsOf 15 SPN and PBM biopsies,7 showed essential pathological findings whichreachedthe etiologicaldiagnosis, including 5definitevasculitis, 1inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and 1 amyloid neuropathy.Five biopsies are helpful for etiological diagnosis,including demyelinating neuropathy,mild inflammation,and microvascular lesion,et al.Three biopsies are of no value for etiological diagnosis which only have nonspecific change such as type 2 fiber atrophy,neurogenic atrophy and axonal degeneration et al. Finally,SPN and PBM biopsies made the definite etiological diagnosis possible in 12 patients.ConclusionsSPN and PBM biopsy improved the yield of specific pathological and etiological diagnosis of neuropathy and myopathy such as vasculitis and amyloidosis with minor trauma and side effect.Further clinical and pathological studies will be necessary for a better practice of combined nerve and muscle biopsy.