Objective To evaluate the capacity of atopy patch test in diagnosis of food allergy in children with atopic dermatitis (AD).Methods Egg and milk,as the most common food allergens among Chinese children,were employed in this study.Skin prick test (SPT) and atopy patch test (APT) with fresh egg and milk were carried out in 68 children with AD.Oral food challenges in an open style were performed to confirm the diagnosis of food allergy.Resuits Of these patients,58(85.3%)were sensitive to egg,40(58.8%)to milk and 34(50.0%) to both.Of 98 patients with positive challenge,47 showed late response,10 immediate reactions.and 41 mixed reactions.The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value (PPV),negative predictive value (NPV) and the agreement with food challenges in diagnosis of egg/milk allergy were 96.6%/67.5%.90.0%/82.1%,98.2%/84.4%,81.8%/63.9% and 95.6%/73.5%,respectively for APT alone,37.9%/30.0%,100%/89.3%,100%/80.0%,21.7%/47.2% and 47.1%/54.4%,respectively for SPT alone.APT was found to be more sensitive in diagnosis of late-phase reactions than SPT (P<0.01).No significant difference was found in the sensitivity between APT alone and the combination of APT and SPT in parallel algorithm for diagnosis of egg or milk allergy (x2=0.509,0.549,both P>0.05) or in the specificity between APT alone and that in serial algorithm( P=1.000;x2=3.514,P>0.05).Conclusions APT is superior to SPT in diagnosis of late responses to food,and the combination of SPT and APT does not facilitate the diagnosis of food or milk allergy compared with APT alone.

Objective To explore the changes of the plasma motilin(MTL)and serum gastrin(GAS)levels and their relationship with course of disease,the severity,the complication of digestive system in neonates with intracranial haemorrhage(ICH).Methods The objects were 26 cases of term newborns with ICH,the healthy control group contained 30 cases of healthy term newborns.Plasma motilin and serum gastrin concentration were measured by radioimmmunoassay in 26 cases of newborns with ICH in the 2 d,3-5 d,7-10 d,and 12-15 d after birth,and compared with the healthy control group.Results Compared with healthy control group,the blood GAS and MTL levels of neonatal ICH group increased dramatically(Pa

Objective To explore the effect of Melatonin(MT) on CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cell (CD4+CD25+Tr)and airway inflammation in asthmatic rat.Methods Thirty-two SD rats were randomly divided into 4 groups,8 rats in each group.Asthmatic group:rats were immunized on day 1 and 7 by intraperitoneal inject of mixture of ovalbumin(OVA) and aluminumhydroxide.From day 14,the animals were allenged with aerosolized OVA for 20 min per day for 7 consecutive days.MT group:OVA-sensitized rats were injected intraperitoneally with 0.1 mg/kg MT 30 min before each OVA challenge.Dexamethasone group:OVA-sensitized rats were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 mg/kg Dexamethasone 30 min before each OVA challenge.Control group:OVA for inhalation and MT for intraperitoneal injection was replaced with saline.After the last challenge,peripheral blood was stained to count the percentage of eosinophil(EOS).Then the rats were lavaged and total leukocytes counts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid(BALF) were performed after staining with Wright-Giemsa staining.The EOS counts around the airway was counted after the histological section of lung staining with hematoxylin and eosin staining.The serum level of immunoglobulin E(IgE) was detected by immunoenhancement.The change of CD4+CD25+Tr was assessed with flow cytometry.SPSS 10.0 software was applied to analyze data. Results In asthmatic rats,the CD4+CD25+ Tr/ CD4+T cells ratio had significant negative relationship with the EOS counts around the airway and the total leukocytes counts in BALF (r=-0.73 P0.05).There was a significant decrease in the percentage of the eosinophils in peripheral blood,the eosinophil counts around the airway,the total leukocytes counts in BALF and the serum level of IgE in MT group compared with asthmatic group (Pa

Objective To explore the possible effect of Nogo-A receptor antagonist NEP1-40 on neurite outgrowth in neonatal rats with hypoxic-ischemic brain damage(HIBD).Methods Sixty-four healthy Wistar rats were randomly divided into 8 groups at 2 different time points(6 h,24 h):control group,HIBD group,NEP1-40 group and ganglioside group(GM-1 group).Rats of control group and HIBD group were injected with saline(0.25 mL/kg)by intraperitoneal injection,while rats of NEP1-40 group and GM-1 group were administrated with 10 mg/(kg?d) NEP1-40 and 20 mg/(kg?d) GM-1 on request in each group,respectively.Immunohistochemical staining was adopted to detect the Nogo-A-positive cells,and ultrastructural changes of neuron and axon were observed by transmission electron microscopy.SPSS 13.0 statistical software was used to run One-Way ANOVA tests on the data presented.Results The Nogo-A-positive cells at 2 time points in rats of HIBD group were significantly higher than those of control group(t=7.63,15.13 Pa0.05),while the Nogo-A-positive cells in GM-1 group at 24 h was lower than that of HIBD group(t=4.25 P

Objective To investigate the effects of partial body weight supported treadmill training (BW- STT) on post-stroke depression (PSD) and on patients' quality of life.Methods Sixty patients with PSD were re- cruited and divided into a training group (n=30,male 17,female 13) and a control group (n=30,male 16,fe- male 14).All patients were treated with routine internal medication and rehabilitation.The patients of the training group also received BWSTT in addition to their routine treatment.All patients' neurological impairment was evaluated using the Modified Edinburgh-Scandinavian Stroke Scale (MESSS).The Hamilton depression scale (HAMD) was used for evaluating the degree of depression.The Fugl-Meyer scale and the Barthel index were used to assess ambula- tion and balance,and facility in the activities of daily living.All patients were assessed before and after the treat- ment.Results After four weeks of treatment,depression in the training group had improved significantly more than in the control group.Conclusion BWSTT intervention is very important for patients with PSD:it can reduce the degree of depression and improve the quality of life.

AIMTo investigate the inhibition of amyloid beta-protein 42 (Abeta42) production in M146L cells by gamma-schisandrin.

METHODSM146L cells which can produce considerable Abeta42 in vitro were treated with gamma-schisandrin (1.67, 5.00 and 15.00 microg x mL(-1)), beta-secretase inhibitor (S4562, 100.00 microg x mL(-1)) and gamma-secretase inhibitor (S2188, 13.68 microg x mL(-1)), separately. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to assess cell viability. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was carried out to determine the amount of Abeta42. Western blotting was used to examine C99, an intermediary product of APP cleaved by beta-secretase. beta-Secretase and gamma-secretase activities were assayed by commercial kits.

RESULTSThe CCK-8 assay indicated that different concentrations of gamma-schisandrin had no neurotoxicity on the cultured M146L. And the ELISA test showed that the amount of Abeta42 secreted by M146L cells treated with gamma-schisandrin (5.00 and 15.00 microg x mL(-1)) decreased obviously as compared with solvent control. The results of Western blotting test indicated that there was no change of C99 contents and beta-secretase activity in gamma-schisandrin treated cells, while gamma-secretase activity decreased obviously.

CONCLUSIONgamma-Schisandrin inhibited production of Abeta42 in M146L cells through inhibiting gamma-secretase.

Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Amyloid Precursor Protein Secretases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; metabolism ; Amyloid beta-Peptides ; antagonists & inhibitors ; biosynthesis ; Animals ; CHO Cells ; Cricetinae ; Cricetulus ; Cyclooctanes ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Humans ; Lignans ; Peptide Fragments ; antagonists & inhibitors ; biosynthesis ; Polycyclic Compounds ; pharmacology

Objective To investigate the effect of partial body-weight supported treadmill training ( PBW- STT) on function of lower limbs, walk function, ADL performance and quality of life of hemiplegic patient induced by cerebral infarction. Methods A total of 132 cerebral infarction patients were divided into a control group (n = 69) and a training group( n = 63) randomly. Both groups accepted routine rehabilitation therapy, and the training group accepted PBWSTT at the same time in addition. Both groups were evaluated with regard to their walking ability, func- tion of lower limbs, ADL performance and their quality of life by using Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) , Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) , Barthel index (BI) and SF-36 before and after rehabilitation treatment. Results The function of lower limb, walking ability, ADL performance and the quality of life of both groups were improved significantly after treatment, and those in the training group were improved to a significantly greater extent than those in the control group ( P

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of adenovirus vector-mediated siRNA targeting vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) on apoptosis and the expression of survivin in K562 cells.

METHODSK562 cells were infected with recombinant adenovirus Ad5-VEGFsi for 72 hours as experimental group (K562/Ad5-VEGFsi), and empty vector group (K562/Ad5) and blank control group (K562) as controls. VEGF mRNA and survivin mRNA expression were determined by RT-PCR. The protein levels of VEGF and survivin were measured by ELISA and Western blot, respectively. The apoptosis of K562 cells was detected by flow cytometry.

RESULTSThe levels of VEGF and survivin mRNA expression in experimental group cells were significantly decreased (P < 0.01). The protein concentration of VEGF in experimental group supernatant was (1121 +/- 15) pg/ml, being lower than that in empty vector group \[(1290 +/- 28) pg/ml\] and black control group \[(1303 +/- 28) pg/ml\] (P < 0.01), and the level of survivin protein in experimental group (0.26 +/- 0.11) was significantly reduced compared with that in blank control group (0.74 +/- 0.10) (P < 0.01). The apoptosis rate of K562/Ad5-VEGFsi cells (16.45 +/- 0.14)% was higher than those of K562/Ad5 cells (3.54 +/- 0.17)% and K562 cells (2.56 +/- 0.20)% (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONSVEGF can up-regulate the expression of survivin. After inhibition of VEGF by RNAi, the expression of survivin is decreased subsequently and the rates of cell apoptosis are increased.

Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Humans ; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins ; metabolism ; K562 Cells ; RNA, Small Interfering ; genetics ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

Objective To investigate the expressions of human telomerase reverse transcriptase(hTERT) mRNA and protein in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma and their significance as diagnostic markers in predicting the biological behaviour of these tumours.Methods Expression of hTERT mRNA was determined by in situ hybridization in 45 pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas(31 benign,7 suspected malignant and 7 malignant) and 9 normal adrenal medulla samples,hTERT protein was determined by immunohistoebemistry.Results hTERT mRNA was expressed in 5/7 malignant turnouts and 5/7 suspected malignant tumours as compared with 3/31 benign tumours(P

Objective： This stduy was designed to investigate the molecular mechanism of cell proliferation inhibited by tea polyphenols in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cell line CNE-LMP1. Method： Light microscope, MTT assay, flow cytometry, Western blot,and reporter gene analysis were applied to investigate the effects of tea polyphenols and(-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on the cell cycle and related molecular mechanisms. Result： After treatment of CNE-LMP1 cells with tea polyphenols(200 μ g/ml), the number of proliferating cells was obviously decreased as determined by light microscopy, and the survival rate of cells decreased from 100％ to 38.1％ as determined by MTT assay. With the increase of tea polyphenols concentrations, the number of cells in S-phase was obviously decreased from 22.20％ to 13.16％ (200 μ g/ml), and the number of cells in Phase G1 were elevated from 68.50％ to 74.08％ . It suggested that tea polyphenols could arrest the cell cycle at G1/S checkpoint. The transcription and the expression of cyclin D1 were obviously declined 4-5 fold. Furthermore, after treatment with tea polyphenols, transactivities of NFκ B and AP-1 was obviously down-regulated in CNE-LMP1 cells for 5-6 and 7-8 fold, respectively. Conclusion： Tea polyphenols could arrest cell cycle and inhibit cells proliferation of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and down-regulation of the gene transcription and expression of cyclin D1 might also be involved in these events.