Objective To study the antigenicity of human thyrotropin receptor(hTSHR)amino terminus (amino acid 29～280)and its association with Graves' disease.Methods Total thyroid RNA was prepared from human normal thyroid tissue.RNA was then reversely transcripted and cDNA was subjected to PCR amplification.PCR product was cloned into pcDNA3.1 and the recombinant plasmid was named pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp. Balb/c mice were immunized with peDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp. The levels of serum thyroxin,anti-TSHR antibody(TRAb)and thyroid stimulating antibody(TSAb)were measured,and the pathological changes of thyroid tissue were also observed.Results A 753 bp fragment encoding hTSHR ectodomain amino end was obtained after PCR amplification.Confirmed by Hind Ⅲ restriction enzyme digestion and DNA sequencing,pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bphad been constructed successfully,with the correct sequence and direction of hTSHR188～940bp.In the Balb/c mice treated with pcDNA3.1/hTSHR188～940bp,elevated TRAb in week 6(0.148±0.018)were observed compared with those at week o(0.106±0.006,P＜0.01),and kept a higher level till week 10(0.134±0.011,P＜0.01).T4 and TSAb index values were significantly increased in week 10.Serum T4 concentration increased from(41.02±7.97)μg/L in week 0 to(62.20±12.77)μg/L in week 10(P＜0.01);TSAb index values rose from 0.864±0.076 at week 0 to 1.392±0.615(P＜0.01).Thyroid pathological examination showed that proliferated thyroid follicular epithelial cells and foll icular eapacity increased.Inflammatory cells were occasionally found.Conclusions There are antigen epitopes in hTSHR ectodomain amino acid 29～280,which can stimulate the production of TSAb.And the latter induces hyperthyroidism and Graves' disease like manifestations.It suggests that hTSHR ectodomain amino acid 29～280 is closely associated with Graves' disease,and maybe one of important etiological factors leading to the disease.

Obesity has become a major health problem worldwide. The prevalence and morbidity of obesity-related diseases including diabetes, hypertension, cerebro-cardiovascular diseases, and tumors also have remarkably increased. Treatment of obesity poses a challenge for clinicians. Anti-obesity treatment is helpful to improve and even reverse obesity-related complications. Diet control and physical exercises remain the predominant interventions for obese patients. Anti-obesity drugs can be considered in those who respond poorly to behavioral intervention or those who have developed obesity-related complications. The commonly used anti-obesity drugs include gastrointestinal lipase inhibitors and appetite suppressants. Glucagon-like peptide 1 has also been found to be effective in reducing body weight. Some more drugs are under development, which include selective 5-HT 2c agonist, β3 receptor agonist, and melanocortin receptor 4 agonist, may also be promising.
Anti-Obesity Agents ; therapeutic use ; Appetite Depressants ; therapeutic use ; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Obesity ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of alprazolam use on psychological status and hospitalization cost in patient with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia underwent electrophysiology studies or radiofrequency catheter ablation.

METHODSIn this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 142 inpatients [77 males, mean age (43.1 +/- 14.5) years] were randomly assigned to receive alprazolam (0.4 mg qd at 10PM for 3 days, n = 72) or placebo (n = 70) 3 days before scheduled electrophysiology studies or radiofrequency catheter ablation. All patients were examined by the Chinese version of Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) at 24 hours before the procedure.

RESULTSCompared with the placebo group, the scores of somatization (1.38 +/- 0.40 vs. 1.65 +/- 0.56, P < 0.01), anxiety (1.50 +/- 0.39 vs. 1.69 +/- 0.50, P < 0.05), phobic anxiety (1.24 +/- 0.36 vs. 1.47 +/- 0.57, P < 0.01), psychotism constructs (1.24 +/- 0.34 vs. 1.35 +/- 0.30, P < 0.05) and global severity index (1.36 +/- 0.35 vs. 1.49 +/- 0.37, P < 0.05) were significantly decreased in alprazolam group. The hospitalization costs were also significantly lower in alprazolam group (32 498 +/- 1170) yuan compared to placebo group (32 947 +/- 1096) yuan, P < 0.05.

CONCLUSIONThe alprazolam use before electrophysiology studies and radiofrequency catheter ablation can improve the patients' psychological status and reduce the hospitalization costs.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Alprazolam ; therapeutic use ; Anti-Anxiety Agents ; therapeutic use ; Catheter Ablation ; economics ; psychology ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Hospitalization ; economics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Tachycardia, Paroxysmal ; psychology ; therapy ; Tachycardia, Supraventricular ; psychology ; therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect and the possible mechanism underlying the promotional effect of Astragalus membranaceus and Panax notoginseng on the transformation of bone narrow stem cells and proliferation of EPC.

METHODThe marrow blood was collected in the patients with ischemia of lower limbs and BM-MNCs were separated and proliferated under different conditions. A. morphologic observation was performed and the ratio of CD34+ cells was measured.

RESULTThe shuttle shaped cells lined up as bunches with several round cells scattered. The ratio of CD34+ cells was significantly increased in groups treated with medium (P < 0.01) and lower (P < 0.05) dosages of A. membranaceus and medium (P < 0.01) and high dosages (P < 0.01) of P. notoginseng respectively as compared with control group.

CONCLUSIONA. membranaceus and P. notoginseng can promote the transformation and proliferation of EPC.

Antigens, CD34 ; metabolism ; Astragalus membranaceus ; chemistry ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Ginsenosides ; administration & dosage ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; cytology ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Humans ; Panax notoginseng ; chemistry ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the role of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and tumor markers in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and serum in the diagnosis and treatment of intracranial germinoma in children.

METHODSTotally 5 children (3 girls and 2 boys) who were treated in our hospital between January 2009 and December 2010 due to central diabetes insipidus. All patients received contrast-enhanced brain MRI at presentation and during each follow-up: meanwhile, their anterior pituitary hormones and tumor markers including human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and alpha fetoprotein (AFP) were also determined.

RESULTSThree patients presented without prior evaluation, and two patients were referred to our hospital due to exaggerated disease of unknown cause. Their ages at presentation ranged from 8 years to 12 years 1 month, and the duration of symptoms at presentation was between 1 month to 78 months. All of them had polyuria and polydipsia at presentation. Except one child, the other 4 patients had growth retardation and failure in initiation of puberty. Although the growth rate and puberty development were normal during the 2-year follow-up for the excepted child, all child experienced anterior pituitary hypofunction and an increased concentration of plasma prolactin after the lesion became enlarged. Three patients had cerebral hernia, which presented in 18, 24, and 78 months, respectively. In three patients, brain MRI at presentation showed isolated pituitary stalk thickening, which further developed into massive tumor in the hypothalamus pituitary region 18-22 months later; in the remaining two patients, large brain tumor was found via MRI at their first presentations. In all five patients, the posterior pituitary gland (bright spot) disappeared on T1-weighted MRI images. CSF hCG elevated in all five patients, and serum hCG increased in four patients; the level of hCG varied with the mass size of tumor. Serum and CSF AFP increased in only one patient.

CONCLUSIONSPatients with idiopathic central diabetes insipidus must be closely followed to identify the etiology, especially when anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies are detected. For patients with normal brain MRI results or simply isolated pituitary stalk thickening at presentation, the changes of serial contrast-enhanced brain MRI should be observed during follow-up to ensure the early detection of an evolving occult hypothalamic-stalk lesion. Determination of CSF hCG at the first presentation may be useful, because an increased CSF level of hCG precedes MRI abnormalities.

Biomarkers, Tumor ; analysis ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; Brain Neoplasms ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; diagnosis ; Child ; Female ; Germinoma ; blood ; cerebrospinal fluid ; diagnosis ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Retrospective Studies

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo observe the dynamic time-phase expressions of key genes of brain-gut CaM signal pathway of spleen Qi deficiency rats and the intervention effect of Sijunzi decoction.

METHODMale Wistar rats were randomly divided into the normal control group, model 14 d, 21 d, 28 d groups, and Sijunzi decoction 14 d, 21 d, 28 d groups. Except for the normal control group, the remaining groups were included into the spleen Qi deficiency model with the bitter cold breaking Qi method (ig 7.5 g · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹ of Rheum officinale, Fructus aurantii immaturus, Magnolia officinalis preparation) and the exhaustive swimming method. On the 7th day after the modeling, the Sijunzi decoction groups were orally administered with Sijunzi decoction 20 g · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹. The expressions of key genes CaM/CaMK II of CaM signaling pathway in hippocampus and intestine at different time points by immunohistochemical method and Western blot. At the same time, the intervention effect of Sijunzi decoction on spleen Qi deficiency rats and its mechanism were analyzed.

RESULTSpleen Qi deficiency rats showed higher intestinal CaM/CaMK II expression and lower hippocampus CaM/CaMK II expression than normal rats (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). After the treatment of Sijunzi decoction, spleen Qi deficiency rats showed reduction in intestinal CaM/CaMK II expression and increase in hippocampus CaM/CaMK II expression (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONThe formation of spleen Qi deficiency syndrome may be related to the high expression of CaM/CaMK II in small intestine tissues and its low expression in hippocampus tissues. Sijunzi decoction may achieve the therapeutic effect in spleen Qi deficiency syndrome by reducing the CaM/CaMK II expression in intestinal tissues and increasing it in hippocampus tissues.

Animals ; Brain ; drug effects ; enzymology ; metabolism ; Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase Type 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Calmodulin ; metabolism ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Intestines ; drug effects ; enzymology ; metabolism ; Male ; Qi ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Spleen ; drug effects ; Splenic Diseases ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; genetics ; metabolism

Sixty healthy Sprague-Dawley male rats were used and divided randomly into control group (group C), cadmium loading group with medium dose (group M) and cadmium loading group with high dose (group H). Groups C, M and H were orally dosed daily with 0, 5 and 10 mg/kg of cadmium for over 6 weeks. Effects of cadmium loading on testis and endocrine function of reproduction in male rats were studied. The results showed that the zinc content decreased slightly in testis and plasma, and the cadmium concentration increased significantly in the testis of groups M and H; while the plasma levels of cadmium and zinc had no obvious difference as compared with those of group C; daily sperm production in the testis of group H decreased markedly during week 3 of cadmium loading, and was significantly lower in groups M and H as compared to that in group C during week 6; alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in group H and lactate dehydrogenase-X (LDH-X) in groups M and H were markedly lower compared to those of group C; plasma testosterone (T) level in both cadmium loading groups decreased and was low or significantly lower than that in group C; follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH) levels had no apparent difference between the three groups. It is suggested that the gradual accumulation of cadmium in testis tissue induced by chronic cadmium loading results in changes in some enzyme activity, a decrease in sperm production, and defect of endocrine function activity in the testis.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; drug effects ; Animals ; Cadmium ; blood ; Cadmium Chloride ; administration & dosage ; toxicity ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Isoenzymes ; drug effects ; L-Lactate Dehydrogenase ; drug effects ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproduction ; drug effects ; Spermatogenesis ; drug effects ; Testis ; enzymology ; pathology ; Testosterone ; blood

We investigated the causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in children in Beijing epidemic from April to June of 2007. Totally, 82 specimens (including throat swabs, rectal swabs and vesicular swabs) were collected from 51 patients with HFMD. All patients had typical skin lesions, but no neurological manifestations. These clinical specimens were directly tested by RT-PCR assay with three primer sets: universal enterovirus, CA16-specific and EV71-specific primers. Enterovirus, CA16 and EV71 were identified depending on the size of PCR products. The percentage of the specimens identified as positive for enterovirus was 70.6%. Of the 51 cases, 25 were positive for CA16, 4 were positive for EV71, and 7 were enterovirus positive of non-CA16 or EV71. The ratio among them was about 6:1:2. EV71 strains belonged to genotype C4 after sequencing and phylogenetic analysis.
Child, Preschool ; China ; Enterovirus ; classification ; genetics ; isolation & purification ; physiology ; Female ; Genotype ; Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease ; virology ; Humans ; Male ; Phylogeny ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Objective: To assess the risk of public health emergencies in Zhejiang Province, March 2021. Methods: An expert counsel was conducted to assess the risk of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) , enteritis due to norovirus, chicken pox and influenza by professionals in Zhejiang CDC, based on the information from infectious disease and public health emergency surveillance in Zhejiang Province, domestic health administrative departments, World Health Organization, and European CDC. Results: In March 2021, the risk of imported COVID-19 epidemic will be high in Zhejiang Province, and the possibility of local spread could not be ruled out. The possibility of a large-scale outbreak of enteritis due to norovirus and a small-scale outbreak of chickenpox in schools and kindergartens could not be ruled out after the new term begins. An increased risk of influenza epidemic is predicted in collective units such as schools and kindergartens, yet the risk of a large-scale one will be low. Conclusion High attention should be paid to COVID-19 and enteritis due to norovirus, and general attention should be paid to chicken pox and influenza outbreak.