Humans ; Integrative Medicine ; Lupus Vasculitis, Central Nervous System ; therapy

Objective To study the effect of Haikun Shenxi Capsule(HSC)on endothelin-1(ET-1)and mRNA expression of rats with adriamyein-induced nephrosis and proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells(GMCs)cultured in vitro.Methods The rats were randomized into 6 groups,normal group,sham operation group,model group,benazepril group,HSC low-and high-dose groups.Ten weeks after treatment,ET-1 and mRNA expression were measured with immunohistochemical and hybridization in situ method.Tak- ing the Benazepril group as the control group,the proliferation of GMCs was detected with MTT method.Results In the model group,ET-1 and mRNA expression presented a strong positive,compared with which,that of the HSC low-and high-dose groups was remarkably reduced(P

Objective To observe curative effects of augmentation fixation technique injected with PMMA through lateral holes of dynamical hip screw (DHS) in treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fracture of senile osteoporotic patients. Methods From January 2006 to December 2007,15 senile osteoporotic inpatients with unstable femoral intertrochanteric fracture were treated with augmentation technique injected with PMMA to the femoral head through central channel and lateral holes of DHS. Clinical data about function of hip joint and complications early after operation were observed. All patients were followed up till fractures were healed, when the hip joint function was evaluated according to Harris standarch. Results Surgical trauma indices such as operation time and bleeding volume of augmentation technique were the same as those of merely DHS fixation. All the patients could safely do hip flexion and extension exercises in the bed and completely sit up by bedside 2-3 days after operation. Six patients could do walking exercise with aid one week after operation, with no complications relating to staying in bed or to PMMA during per-operation period. All fractures were healed 3-6 months after operation, without complications like fixation loosening, cut or destruction of femoral head during postoperative follow-up period. Six months after operation, 14 patients recovered viability to normal. According to Harris standards, the results were excellent in four patients, good in 10 and fair in one, with average Harris score of 83 points. Conclusions The augmentation fixation technique injected with PMMA through lateral holes of DHS has advantages of better DHS anchoring ability in femoral heads, less surgical trauma, reliable fixation and early functional exercise and is suitable for senile osteoporotic patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures.

OBJECTIVETo observe the efficacy difference of electroacupuncture and auricular acupuncture in the treatment of methamphetamine withdrawal syndrome.

METHODSNinety male patients of methamphetamine addiction were randomized into an electroacupuncture group, an auricular acupuncture group and a control group, 30 cases in each one. In the electroacupuncture group, Neiguan (PC 6), Shenmen (HT 7), Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6), Jiaji (EX-B 2) at T5 and L2 were selected bilaterally. In the auricular acupuncture group, jiaogan (AH(6a)), shenmen (TF4), fei (CO14) and gan (CO12) were selected unilaterally. The treatment was given 3 times a week, totally 12 treatments were required. In the control group, no any intervention was applied. Separately, before treatment and after 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks treatment, the scores of methamphetamine withdrawal syndrome, Hamilton anxiety scale and Hamilton depression scale were observed in each group.

RESULTSThe total score of methamphetamine withdrawal syndrome, anxiety score and depression score were obviously reduced in 2, 3 and 4 weeks of treatment as compared with those before treatment in the electroacupuncture group and the auricular acupuncture group (all P < 0.05), and showed a trend of gradual decline as the extension of treatment. In 1,2,3,4 weeks of treatment, the total score of withdrawal syndrome, anxiety score and depression score in the electroacupuncture group and auricular acupuncture group were lower significantly than those in the control group (all P < 0.05), in which, the total score of withdrawal syndrome in the electroacupuncture group was lower significantly than that in the auricular acupuncture group in the 4th week of treatment (3.69 +/- 2.446 vs 5.73 +/- 3.169, P < 0.05); the anxiety scores were lower significantly than those in the auricular acupuncture group in 3 and 4 weeks of treatment (8.19 +/- 4.57 vs 9.65 +/- 4.24, 5.27 +/- 2.89 vs 7.38 +/- 3.10, both P < 0.05); the depression scores were lower significantly than those in the auricular acupuncture group in 2, 3 and 4 weeks of treatment (15.35 +/- 5.64 vs 19.81 +/- 5.37, 10.96 +/- 4.52 vs 15.00 +/- 4.53, 7.96 +/- 2.69 vs 12.35 +/- 3.59, all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONElectroacupuncture at the body points and auricular acupuncture play the therapeutic role in the treatment of methamphetamine withdrawal syndrome, anxiety and depression. The longer time the treatment is with electroacupuncture at the body points, the more obvious the efficacy will be on the above symptoms.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture, Ear ; Adult ; Electroacupuncture ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Methamphetamine ; adverse effects ; Middle Aged ; Substance Withdrawal Syndrome ; etiology ; therapy ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Twenty-three patients with pain from osteoporotic vertebral fractures,aged 65-90 yr,weighing 51-78 kg,received an image intensifier-assisted nerve-root block with a 6-8 ml mixture of 0.5 ％ lidocaine,mecobalamine 0.5 mg and betamethasone sodium phosphate injection 5.26 mg in a prone or lateral position.The VAS scores before operation,at 0,1 week,1 and 3 months after operation were 8.6 ± 0.9,1.5 ± 0.7,2.8 ± 0.9,1.6 ± 0.5 and 2.5 ± 0.7,respectively.VAS scores were significantly lower at each time pint after operation than before operation (P ＜ 0.05).According to modified MacNab standard,the effectiveness of treatment was rated as excellent/good in 87％ of the patients.No complication such as bleeding,hematoma,infection,pneumothorax,hemopneumothorax,headache was found during or after operation.Selective nerve-root block is effective in the treatment of pain resulting from osteoporotic vertebral fractures in patients.

Objective To explore the relative factors of unstable plaques of carotid atherosclerosis in ischemic eerebrovascular patients.Methods Carotid arteries of a total of 132 cases with ischemic cerebrovascular disease of carotid artery system were inspected by color Doppler ultrasound.The plaques discovered were classified according to ultrasonic appearance and their stability was judged.The relation between hypertension,diabetes,hyperlipemia, smoking and unstable plaques of carotid atheroselerosis was analyzed.Results The most common site of plaque for- mation was the bifurcate of the common carotid artery(56.99%),and the second commonest was carotid artery (23.12%).The incidence of unstable plaques in the patients with smoking,hypertension and diabetes was higher than those without them(P

Objective To evaluate the value of diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI)on differential diagnosis of intracranial cystic lesions.Methods Seventy-six patients with surgically and pathologically confirmed intracranial cystic lesions undergone conventional MRI,DWI and contrast enhanced MRI examination.The signal characteristics of intracrania]cystic lesions on DWI were analysed retrospectively, the apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC)values of cystic areas were measured quantitatively.Results Nineteen brain abscesses showed hyperintense signal on DWI.Among 34 brain tumors,3 brain gliomas were hyperintense signal,1 brain glioma was isointense signal and 1 metastasis was hyperintense signal;the other 29 brain tumors showed hypointense signal on DWI.The ADC values of all lesions were:(0.62?0.15)? 10~(-3)mm~2/s in brain abscesses,(2.39?0.78)?10~(-3)mm~2/s in brain gliomas,(2.68?0.40)? 10~(-3)mm~2/s in brain hemangioblastomas,(2.79?0.79)?10~(-3)mm~2/s in brain metastases,respectively. There were significant differences between the ADC values of brain abscess and the cystic or necrotic portions of brain glioma,hemangioblastoma,metastasis(P0.05). Seven intracranial arachnoid cysts showed hypointense signal and 16 epidermoid cysts strikingly hyperintense signal on DWI.The ADC values of arachnoid cysts and epidermoid cysts were(2.96?0.36)?10~(-3)mm~2/s and(0.94?0.13)?10~(-3)mm~2/s respectively.There was significant difference between the ADC values of arachnoid cysts and epidermoid cysts(P

Objective To establish a method of detecting hepatitis B virus x antigen (HBxAg) and antibody to HBxAg (anti-HBx) and to demonstrate its clinical significance of HBxAg and anti-HBx in sera from patients of chronic hepatitis B (CHB),liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods Full length HBx gene was cloned into pET30a(+),a prokaryotic expression vector,named pET30a-X.It was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3),followed the fusion protein of HBx-His was induced by IPTG.The purified fusion protein was used to immunize rabbit as an antigen to generate polyclonal antibody to HBx protein.The method of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was established by using purified fusion protein and generated antibody,which was used to detect HBxAg and anti-HBx in sera from patients of CHB,LC,HCC and normal healthy people.Results The positive rates of HBxAg/anti-HBx were 8.7%/10.4% for CHB,17.9%/40.6% for LC,and 9.8%/34.4% for HCC, respectively.In statistics,the positive rates of anti-HBx in LC and HCC were higher than that in CHB (P

OBJECTIVETo study the therapeutic effect of agonistic CD40 monoclonal antibody combined with tumor specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) on B lymphoma.

METHODSHuman B lymphoma cell line, Daudi cells, were cultured with CD40 mAb (5C11) for 24 and 48 hours, respectively. Annexin V/PI-binding assay was employed to analyze apoptosis, and FCM to analyze Fas (CD95) expression. Human peripheral monocyte-derived DC were loaded with apoptotic Daudi cells and stimulated by SC11 for further maturation. Tumor specific CTL were generated in vitro by co-culture of mature DC with autologous T lymphocytes. DNA fragmentations of Daudi cells treated with 5C11, CTL or 5C11 combined with CTL were determined by JAM assay. To establish the B lymphoma model, Daudi cells were subcutaneously injected into humanized SCID mice (hu-SCID). 1 or 3 weeks after tumor transfer. tumor-bearing mice were respectively treated with SC11, CTL, 5C11 combined with CTL by intraperitoneal injection. Tumor volume in differently treated mice was measured every week after therapy, and the survival of tumor-bearing mice was recorded.

RESULTS5C11 significantly up-regulated FAS expression in Daudi cells, but had no significant effect on apoptosis rate of Daudi cells. Tumor-specific CTL could effectively kill Daudi cells. Fragmentation of Daudi cells co-cultured with CTL was remarkably enhanced by combination with SC11. Tumor growth in hu-SCID mice was apparently delayed by treatment with SC11, CTL, or SC11 combined with CTL. Moreover, minimal tumor burden mice got 30.0% or 70.0% complete remission (CR), respectively, when received CTL treatment or combination treatment of SC11 with CTL, and the lifespan of tumor bearing mice was also prolonged significantly.

CONCLUSIONSC11 may enhance the sensitivity of Daudi cells to apoptosis by up-regulation of Fas expression and promote cytotoxicity of CTL in vitro and therapeutic effect in vivo.

Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Apoptosis ; immunology ; CD40 Antigens ; immunology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Coculture Techniques ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Immunotherapy, Adoptive ; methods ; Lymphoma, B-Cell ; immunology ; pathology ; therapy ; Mice ; Mice, SCID ; Remission Induction ; Survival Analysis ; T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic ; cytology ; immunology ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; fas Receptor ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo summarize the new knowledge of the anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC).

METHODSThe clinical data of 58 patients (35 men, 23 women, aged 28 to 79 years) with ATC that were treated with various therapeutic modalities from 1981 to 2005 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 25 patients received surgery alone (SA group) and 33 received surgery plus radiation (S + R group). The dosage of postoperative radiotherapy was 40-70 Gy. Four patients received biopsy, 24 received palliative surgery, and 30 received radical surgery. Only 2 patients received complete chemotherapy.

RESULTSATC invaded trachea in 40 patients (69.0%), esophagus in 32 patients (55.2%), and carotid in 17 patients (29.3%). The cervical lymph node metastases occurred in 19 patients (32.8%). The overall 1-year survival rate was 37.8%, 3-year survival rate 31.2%, and 5-year survival rate 25.9%. The 5-year survival rate was 37.8% in S + R group but was only 9.9% in SA group (P = 0.0000). The 5-year survival rate was 41.4% in radical surgery subgroup but was only 12.4% in palliative surgery subgroup (P = 0.0023). In < or = 45-year-old subgroup (n = 4), the 5-year survival rate was 50.0%; however, in > 45-year-old subgroup, it was only 21.3%. In postoperative radiation < 60 Gy subgroup , the 5-year survival rate was 19.3%; however, in > or = 60 Gy group, it was 53.7% (P = 0.0000). Among all the 58 patients, some patients received palliative surgery because of tumor invasion in trachea (n = 16, 27.6%), esophagus (n = 8, 13.8%), carotid (n = 8, 13.8%), and other sites (n = 13, 22.4%). Twenty-four patients (61.5%) died of localrelapse, 2 (5.1%) of cervical lymphnode failure, 9 (23.1%) of metastasis, and 4 (10.3%) of other reasons.

CONCLUSIONSThe prognosis of ATC is poor. Radical surgery and postoperative radiation > or = 60 Gy can improve the survival rate. Tumor invasion in trachea, esophagus, and carotid are the main reasons of palliative surgery. Local relapse is lethal.

Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma ; pathology ; surgery ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; pathology ; surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; pathology ; surgery