Objective To study the relationship between the clinical manifestations and changes of pituitary magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) in short stature children with growth hormone deficiency(GHD).Methods The pituitary MRI finding in 38 cases of short stature children diagnosed as GHD(males 23,females 15;5-14 years old,10 children were in pubertas and Tanner Ⅱ-Ⅲ) were analyzed,and the pituitary morphology,size,signal and pituitary stalk's shape and location were observed.SPSS 12.0 soffware was used to analyze the data.Results The forms of pituitery were plaque in 20 children(53%),cupped in 17 children(45%),and carinate in 1 children.In the 22 cases of completely GHD,18 cases had different levels of anterior pituitary dysplasia,abnormal pituitary stalk and/or pituitary signal changes,5 cases without posterior lobe disappeared high signal and 4 cases with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome;the other 4 cases had completely normal pituitary.In the 16 cases of partially GHD,7 cases had varying degrees of pituitary size and/or abnormal pituitary stalk,8 cases had completely normal pituitary,and 1 case had pituitary adenoma.Conclusion Pituitary MRI could assist diagnosis and evaluate pituitary function in short stature children.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the time trends of cancer mortality among residents in Kaifeng county, Henan province.

METHODSData on cancer mortality from the vital registration system in Kaifeng county from 1988 to 2005 was analyzed. A total of 9543 death records (5974 males and 3567 females) due to malignant tumors were studied. A two-year-period age-specified standardized mortality rates were directly adjusted by the world standard population, and the annual percentage change (APC) of mortality were estimated by a linear logarithm regression.

RESULTSThe crude cancer death rate for male was 95.09/100,000 and its age-standardized death rate was 117.41/100,000. While, the crude cancer death rate for female was 59.13/100,000 and the age-standardized death rate was 57.15/100,000. There was a significant growth tread for lung cancer (APC: 6.54%), liver cancer (5.07%) in males and breast cancer (7.04%) in females in the groups aged over 18. On the contrary, the decreasing treads for esophageal cancer in both of sexes (-7.09%, -13.53%) were also observed in this study. Meanwhile, there was no other significant changes in the trend, either in the tumor sites or mortality, was observed.

CONCLUSIONIn the past two decades, there has been a significant increasing trend for cancer mortality in Kaifeng county, of Henan Province. Hence, it is necessary to enhance epidemiological survey to identify risk factors at the earlier stages.

China ; epidemiology ; Death Certificates ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mortality ; trends ; Neoplasms ; mortality ; Rural Population

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Naoyikang (NYK) on expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in brain of rats with Alzheimer' s disease (AD).

METHODBilateral infusions of Ibotenic acid (IBO) into nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) using hamilton syringe and stereotaxic apparatus were adopted to establish the rat model of AD. After intragastrically administrated with different solution for 28 days, immunohistochemistry and Western-blot were adopted to study the expression of ChAT in frontal cortex of AD rats.

RESULTNYK could improve the morphology and increase the number of ChAT immunoreactive neurons, and significantly promote ChAT protein expression.

CONCLUSIONNYK may be able to increase the synthesis of acetylcholine (ACh) through elevating the expression of ChAT protein, thus improving the level of brain ACh so as to protect central cholinergic neurons.

Alzheimer Disease ; enzymology ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Brain ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Choline O-Acetyltransferase ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Gene Expression Regulation ; drug effects ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To measure the level of microglia TRPC6 in mouse MPTP (1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine)-induced neuroinflammation model and investigate its role in cytokine production and dopaminergic neuron damages. Methods Microglia were sorted by magnetic beads labeled with CD11b antibody and the level of TRPC6 in MPTP-induced neuroinflammation models was measured by western blotting. The proliferation of microglia and damages of dopaminergic neurons induced by MPTP were analyzed by immunofluorescence in CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice. Meanwhile, the expression of cryαB and cytokines in microglia was measured by western blotting and real-time quantitative PCR, respectively. Results The level of microglia TRPC6 in MPTP-induced neuroinflammation model was up-regulated. The expression of cryαB was increased and the cytokine level was down-regulated in the microglia in MPTP-injected CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice. Moreover, the dopaminergic neuron survival was improved in the MPTP-induced neuroinflammation model after TRPC6 knock-out in the microglia. Conclusions The expression of TRPC6 in microglia is up-regulated after MPTP injection, while in CD11b-TRPC6 -/ - mice the MPTP-induced cytokine expression is reduced, contributing to the improvement of dopaminergic neuron survival.

OBJECTIVETo study protective effect and pathogenesis of complex salvia miltiorrhiza (DanShen) on acute mercury poisoning in rabbits.

METHODSModels of acute mercury poisoning was made in rabbits. The effect of complex salvia miltiorrhiza on blood urea nitrogen (BUN), copper-protein (CP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and the malondialdehyde (MDA) in plasma, superoxide dismutase (SOD) in erythrocyte and MDA, SOD in tissues homogenate were observed.

RESULTSThe administration of complex salvia miltiorrhiza after mercury injection 0.5 h and 9.5 h, decreased BUN, CP, MDA, LDH and ACP, and prevented the reduction of SOD. Compared with mercury poisoning group, the difference was statistical significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONIt is suggested that acute mercury poisoning may result in renal damage but also multiple organ tissues, and complex salvia miltiorrhiza possesses protective effect, through stabilized membranes.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Male ; Mercury Poisoning ; blood ; drug therapy ; Phenanthrolines ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Rabbits ; Salvia miltiorrhiza

BACKGROUNDAngioplasty in the unprotected left main coronary artery (LMCA) has been controversial. This study aims to evaluate the safety and clinical effectiveness of stenting, including bare metal stent and drug eluting stent (DES), for treatment of unprotected LMCA disease.

METHODSBetween September 1997 and December 2005, a total of 297 consecutive patients underwent percutanous coronary intervention (PCI) on LMCA lesions in our hospital. Their in-hospital data and clinical follow-up outcomes were analyzed and those in pre-DES "era" (group I, from September 1997 to December 2002) were compared with those in DES "era" (group II, from January 2003 to December 2004. Patients in 2005 for the time of follow-up less than one year were not included in this group).

RESULTSAltogether 368 coronary stents were successfully deployed in 295 patients. Stents failed to be implanted after balloon predilation in two patients, who received coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) successfully. Bifurcation techniques for distal LMCA executed in 206 patients (69.4%, 206/297), included crossover stenting in 156 (75.7%), T stenting in 4 (1.9%), provisional T stenting in 28 (13.6%), kissing stenting in 5 (2.4%) and stent crushing in 13 (6.3%) patients. During their hospital stay, 5 (1.7%) patients died after PCI procedure, of which 4 died from cardiac origin and one of renal failure. The total in-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were 2.0% (6/297). In the follow-up period, 19 patients (6.5%) died [15 (5.1%) of cardiac death and 4 of non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI)]. Besides, 2 (0.7%) developed subacute thrombosis (SAT) and 16 (5.4%) performed target lesion revascularization (TLR). The total follow-up MACE was 14.5% (43/297). Further analysis also showed that, compared with patients in group I, those in group II apparently had more multi-vessel involvement (14.7% vs 81.9%, P < 0.001), and more bifurcation lesions (32.4% vs 72.2%, P < 0.001). After PCI, in-hospital MACE of group II was significantly lower than that in group I (1.1% vs 9.4%, P < 0.05). And the incidences of MACE, TLR and angiographic restenosis in group II were all significantly lower than those in group I (all P < 0.05) after one year follow-up.

CONCLUSIONSAs new PCI strategies and intervention devices such as DES are developed, coronary stenting, which might have brought better in-hospital and long-term outcomes than CABG, are proved to be technically successful and can be safely applied for the treatment of LMCA lesions in the experienced center for coronary intervention.

Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Disease ; therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Stents

BACKGROUNDRecent studies reported that percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation was safe and feasible for the treatment of left main coronary artery (LMCA) disease in select patients. However, it is unclear whether drug-eluting stents (DESs) have better outcomes in patients with LMCA disease compared with bare-metal stent (BMS) during long-term follow-up in Chinese populations.

METHODSFrom a perspective multicenter registry, 1136 consecutive patients, who underwent BMS or DES implantation for unprotected LMCA stenosis, were divided into two groups: 1007 underwent DES implantation, and 129 underwent BMS implantation. The primary outcome was the rate of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs), including cardiovascular (CV) death, myocardial infarction (MI), and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 5 years postimplantation.

RESULTSPatients in the DES group were older and more likely to have hyperlipidemia and bifurcation lesions. They had smaller vessels and longer lesions than patients in the BMS group. In the adjusted cohort of patients, the DES group had significantly lower 5 years rates of MACE (19.4% vs. 31.8%, P = 0.022), CV death (7.0% vs. 14.7%, P = 0.045), and MI (5.4% vs. 12.4%, P = 0.049) than the BMS group. There were no significant differences in the rate of TLR (10.9% vs. 17.8%, P = 0.110) and stent thrombosis (4.7% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.758). The rates of MACE (80.6% vs. 68.2%, P = 0.023), CV death (93.0% vs. 85.3%, P = 0.045), TLR (84.5% vs. 72.1%, P = 0.014), and MI (89.9% vs. 80.6%, P = 0.029) free survival were significantly higher in the DES group than in the BMS group. When the propensity score was included as a covariate in the Cox model, the adjusted hazard ratios for the risk of CV death and MI were 0.41 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.21-0.63, P = 0.029) and 0.29 (95% CI: 0.08-0.92, P = 0.037), respectively.

CONCLUSIONSDES implantation was associated with more favorable clinical outcomes than BMS implantation for the treatment of LMCA disease even though there was no significant difference in the rate of TLR between the two groups.

Aged ; Coronary Artery Disease ; surgery ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; methods ; Prospective Studies ; Stents ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDLong-term efficacy and safety of tacrolimus-eluting stent (Janus) for treatment of coronary artery disease in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) "real world" is uncertain. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Janus stent for treating coronary heart disease in PCI daily practice, the safety of 4-month clopidogrel therapy after Janus stent implantation and the feasibility for treating patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) for first time.

METHODSFrom February 20, 2006 to August 26, 2006, a total of 200 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either Janus stent (n = 100) or bare metal stent (Tecnic Carbostent, n = 100). All patients were administered with clopidogrel for 4 months and aspirin for life long after stenting.

RESULTSBaseline clinical and angiographic characteristics were comparable between the two groups. AMI was present in 37% of patients with Janus and 36% with Tecnic Carbostent. At an average of 246-day follow-up, major adverse cardiac events (MACE) was 6% with the Janus stent and 15% with the Tecnic Carbostent (P = 0.038). Primary events included 1 cardiac death, 1 myocardial infarction (MI) due to subacute stent thrombosis and 13 target lesion revascularizations (TLR) due to restenosis in patients with Tecnic Carbostent and 6 TLR due to restenosis in patients with Janus stent. Although all patients had discontinued clopidogrel for an average of 126 days, there was no additional thrombotic event in the two groups.

CONCLUSIONSJanus stent is efficient in reducing MACE compared with Tecnic Carbostent at an average of 8-month follow-up. Discontinuation of clopidogrel at 4 months after PCI is safe for patients with Janus stent, including AMI patients. Long-term efficacy of Janus stent in reducing restenosis requires further study.

Adult ; Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary ; methods ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Disease ; therapy ; Drug Delivery Systems ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction ; therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Tacrolimus ; administration & dosage

AIM: To investigate the possible signaling pathway that promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transi-tion(EMT)of the lung cancer A549 cells stimulated with muscarinic receptor 3(M3R)agonist carbachol.METHODS:The lung cancer cells A549 were treated with 400 μmol/L carbachol.The morphological changes of the cells were observed under inverted phase contrast microscope.The migration and invasion abilites were measured by Wound healing and Tran-swell assays.qPCR was used to detect the mRNA level of vimentin and E-cadherin.The protein levels of p-AKT,vimentin and E-cadherin were determined by Western blot.RESULTS:After treatment with carbachol,the A549 cells showed loss of the close connection and the cell morphology was transformed from irregular polygon to spindle -like cells.The results of Wound healing and Transwell assays showed that the migration and invasion abilites of the A 549 cells were enhanced.Car-bachol increased the vimentin expression and decreased the E-cadherin expression at mRNA and protein level(P<0.05). The phosphorylation of AKT in the A549 cells was up-regulated(P<0.05).These changes was inhibited by M3R antago-nist 4-DAMP.CONCLUSION:Carbachol promotes EMT in the human lung cancer A 549 cells by activating PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Objective To evaluate the yield of HIV antibody testing strategy currently used on different populations, in China. Methods (1) The following samples were collected and tested according to the currently used HIV antibody testing strategy in China. 103 133 samples from the general populations (outpatients, new recruits and blood donors), 1276 people under high risk (spouses of the HIV infected individuals, intravenous drug users) and 2323 biochemical or immunological abnormal samples. (2) Retrospective analysis was done on data from the HIV testing among outpatients in General Hospital of People's Armed Police Forces, from Jan., 2002 to Dec.,2008 and in three provincial central HIV test and confirmatory laboratories. Results (1) The yields of HIV antibody screening were significantly different in different populations. The probability of screening reactive to be true positive was 50% in high risk population, significantly higher than in the general population. The probability of screening reactive to be true positive was 19.58% in the confirmatory laboratory mainly towards the general population, but significantly lower than results from the confirmatory laboratories done on the high risk population. (2) From 2002 to 2008, in the General Hospital of People's Armed Police Forces, the probability of screening reactive to be true positive in the clinical HIV test was increasing from 3.7% to 16.0%, where as the efficiency of the repeat screening testing decreased from 92.6% to 61.5%. Conclusion The predictive value of HIV antibody screening reactive was significantly greater in high risk population than in general population. The precision of HIV antibody initial screening was substantially increased with the improvement of HIV antibody test kits and of quality control in the HIV test laboratories in recent years. It is suggested that different HIV test strategies to be implemented in different populations.