Humans ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal

Objective To analyze the significance of postoperative radiotherapy for lymph node positive patients after radical resection of esophageal carcinoma.Methods Two hundred and sixty patients with esophageal squamous cell cancer,aged ≤70,with the performance status score of0 -1,who had undergone radical resection were divided into 2 equal groups:surgery alone group (Group A ) and surgery plus radiotherapy group (Group B).Group A was classified into 3 sub-groups:Group A1 (n =42)without lymph node involvement,Group A2 (n =43 ) with 1 to 3 involved lymph nodes,and Group A3(n =45) with ≥4 involved lymph nodes.Group B was classified into 3 sub-groups:Group B1 (n =43 )without lymph node involvement,Group B2 (n =44) with 1 to 3 involved lymph nodes,and Group B3(n =43 ) with ≥4 involved lymph nodes.The patients were followed up till death.Results The 1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival rates of Group A were 71.5％,35.4％ and 20％,respectively,all significantly lower than those in Group B (76.2％,48.5％ and 36.2％,respectively,x2 =7.822,P ＜0.05).The 1-,3-,and 5-year survival rates of Groups A1 were 83.3％,52.3％,and 38.1％,respectively,all not significantly different from those of Group B1 (81.3％,58.1％,and 46.5％,respectively,x2 =0.283,P ＞ 0.05 ).The 1-,3-,and 5-year survival rates of Groups A2 were 69.8％,34.9％,and 18.6％,respectively,all significantly lower than those of Group B2 (77.3％,47.7％,and 40.9％,respectively,x2 =4.188,P ＜ 0.05).The 1-,3-,and 5-year survival rates of Groups A3 were 62.2％,20％,and 4.4％,respectively,all significantly lower than those of Group B3 ( 69.8％,39.5％,and 20.9％,respectively,x2 =6.168,P ＜ 0.05).The 5-year metastatic lymph node rates of Groups A1 to A3 were 30.9％,53.4％,and 66.7％,respectively,all significantly higher than those of Groups B1 to B3 ( 11.6％,22.7％,and 30.2％,respectively,x2 =4.753,8.741,and 11.682,respectively,all P ＜0.05).The 5-year distant metastasis rates of Groups A1 to A3 were 11.9％,20.9％,and 31.1％,respectively,all not significantly different from those of Groups B1 to B3 (13.9％,20.4％,and 25.6％,respectively,x2 =0.079,0.003,and 0.203,respectively,all P ＞ 0.05 ).Conclusions Postoperative radiotherapy increases the survival rate of lymph node positive patients,but shows little efficacy on the lymph node negative patients.It reduces the occurrence of lymph node metastasis,even in the lymph node negative patients,and does not increase the morbidity of complications,especially that of anastomotic stenosis.The number of metastatic lymph node is one of the important factors affecting the survival of esophageal carcinoma.Distant metastasis increases along with the number of metastatic lymph nodes.

AIM: To observe the inhibition of c-Met inhibitor on proliferation of lens epithelial cells (LECs).METHODS: Human's LECs were cultured and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and K252a were added to second passage of cells supplied with Dulbecco's modified eagle's medium (DMEM). MTT assay was used to examine the proliferation of LECs, and Western-blot was used to detect the expression change of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3.RESULTS: The photodensity (A) of HGF (50nmol/L) + K252a (30nmol/L) was not significantly different from that of DMEM control (P＞0.05). The expression of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 were not significantly different from that in the control group.CONCLUSION: K252a, the inhibitor of c-Met, can effectively inhibit the proliferation of LECs.

OBJECTIVETo explore the therapeutic effect of Chinese medicinal massage with nourishing-Shen and activating-blood manipulation in treating women with climacteric syndrome and its influence on endocrinal function.

METHODSSixty patients were assigned to two groups, the 40 patients in the treated group were treated by Chinese medicinal massage for 20 min once every other day; the 20 patients in the control group were treated by hormone replacement therapy with Premarin 0.625 g, once daily by oral taking. The therapeutic efficacy was evaluated after two-month treatment by changes of serum levels of estradiol (E2), follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and Kupperman index before and after treatment.

RESULTSKupperman index showed that the total symptom score in the treated group was improved from 30.71 +/- 8.43 scores before treatment to 8.21 +/- 5.14 scores after treatment, with a decrement of 22.50 +/- 8.14 scores, which was higher than that in the control group, from 24.32 +/- 5.44 scores to 5.92 +/- 3.58 scores, with a decrement of 18.40 +/- 4.50 scores, the difference between them was statistically significant (t = 2.52, P = 0.014). The serum level of E2 increased in both groups significantly after treatment, from 20.23 +/- 20.78 ng/L to 54.34 +/- 24.26 ng/L in the treated group (t= -2.73, P = 0.006), and from 16.15 +/- 24.40 ng/L to 40.61 +/- 81.54 ng/L in the control group (t = -1.72, P = 0.086), but the difference between groups was statistical insignificant (t= -1.120, P = 0.263). As for levels of FSH and LH, their decrements in the control group (13.16 +/- 11.29 mlU/mL and 10.37 +/- 9.21 mlU/mL) were larger than those in the treated group (4.92 +/- 4.26 mlU/mL and 0.17 +/- 2.42 mlU/mL), respectively (t = - 2.49, P = 0.013; t = - 2.38, P = 0.017).

CONCLUSIONChinese medicinal massage manipulation could improve the Kupperman index of all the 13 symptoms in women with climacteric syndrome, and increase the E2 level in serum.

Adult ; Estradiol ; blood ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Follicle Stimulating Hormone ; blood ; Humans ; Luteinizing Hormone ; blood ; Massage ; Menopause ; Middle Aged

Objective: To acquire recombinant nematode anticoagulant peptide ( NAP) with high anticoagulant activity. Methods: Pichia pastoris GS115 strain was transformed with recombinant yeast expression vector pPICS. 5K-rNAP. Expression of rNAP was induced with methanol after the identification of positive strains. NAP expressed in the collected yeast culture supernatant was confirmed with SDS-PAGE and Western blot. The biological activity of the products was validated with PT (prothrombin time) , INR (international normalized ratio) and APTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) , respectively. Results: The yeast strains expressing NAP were identified. The rNAP was secreted into culture supernatant with a molecular weight of about 10 kDa due to glycosylation, which is a little bigger than that predicted (8.7kDa). The anticoagulant efficiency of rNAP was confirmed with the in vitro assays. Conclusion: The recombinant nematode anticoagulant peptide with high biological activity was successfully expressed in Pichia pastoris and can be used in the future development of novel anticoagulant agent.

Objective To study the clinical characteristics and diagnosis of the solid-psendopapillary tumor of pancreas (SPT).Methods The clinical data of 40 SPT from January 1996 to January 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The average age was (32.9 + 13.6 )years. The average clinical course was (8.6±0.1) months.Clinical symptoms usually included distensible pains and secret anguish in abdomen (60.0%).No jaundice appeared in any case.Results The surgical resection was favorable for the treatment of SPT,which had excellent prognosis.No tumor recurrence were found in those following-up patients. Grossly,the cut surface showed areas of solid and papillary tissue,cystic degeneration,hemorrhage,and necrosis.Pathological features included a combination of solid and cystic components with pseudopapillae formation and degenerative regions without glands.Conclusions SPT has its uniquely clinical and pathological characteristics.Its main diagnosed points are helpful for clinical doctors to make timely diagnosis and reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

Objective To investigate the effect of Glycyrrhizin combined with puerarin on serum Leptin and insulin resistance in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) patients.Methods One hundred and twenty patients with NAFLD were randomized into 4 groups,which were control group,compound Glycyrrhizin group,puerarin group,combined group,and each group was 30 cases.Patients in control group were received the regular liver protecting therapy including vitamins,amino acids,glucurolactone,in compound Glycyrrhizin group were given 60 ml compound glycyrrhizin solution (iv),in puerarin group were given puerarin at dose of 400 mg by intravenous infusion,and in combined group were given both compound glycyrrhizin and puerarin combination.All treatment period was 4 weeks.The levels of serum serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),total cholesterol (TC),triglyceride (TG),leptin (LP),fasting blood glucose (FBG) and insulin(INS) were measured,and the insulin resistance index(IRI) was calculated.The liver CT image of patients were performed by Germany Siemens dual source CT instrument.Results The levels of serum ALT,AST,TC,TG,LP and IRI in control group at before and after treatment were ((83.08 ± 115.68) U/L vs.(43.32 ±11.72) U/L,(52.12±15.62) U/Lvs.(36.08 ±7.28) U/L,(6.20±1.30) mmol/Lvs.(5.60 ±0.70) mmol/L,(2.70 ±0.50) mmol/L vs.(2.10 ±0.40) mmol/L,(14.63 ±3.26) μg/L vs.(7.61 ± 2.46) μg/L,(7.9 ± 1.8) vs.(7.0 ± 1.2)),and the difference were statistically significant (t =12.828,4.244,16.648,21.442,3.341,16.152 respectively,P ＜ 0.01).The levels of serum ALT,AST,TC,TG,LP and IRI in compound glycyrrhizin group after treatment were ((43.28 ± 11.06) U/L,(37.28 ± 7.22) U/L,(5.70± 0.80) mmol/L,(2.20 ± 0.50) mmol/L,(7.89 ± 2.26) μg/L,(7.1 ± 1.6) respectively,significant different from before treatment ((83.06 ± 14.38) U/L,(51.68 ± 15.48) U/L,(6.30 ± 1.50) mmol/L,(2.60 ± 0.40) mmol/L,(15.13 ± 3.87) μg/L,(7.8 ± 2.2) respectively,t =8.893,4.225,16.520,24.708,6.353,21.137 respectively,P ＜ 0.01).The levels of serum ALT,AST,TC,TG,LP and ISI in puerarin group after treatment were (44.26 ± 9.68) U/L,(36.86 ± 6.88) U/L,(5.60 ± 0.70) mmol/L,(2.26 ± 0.48) mmol/L,(6.89 ± 2.18) μg/L,(7.0 ± 1.8) respectively,significant different from that before treatment ((82.68±14.36) U/L,(50.06±15.23) U/L,(6.20±1.60) mmol/L,(2.70±0.52) mmol/L,(15.68 ±3.26)μg/L,(7.7 ±2.8) respectively,t =7.087,8.138,18.159,7.244,7.470,32.283 respectively,P ＜ 0.01).The levels of serum ALT,AST,TC,TG,LP and ISI in combined treatment group after treatment were (22.28 ± 9.38)U/L,(28.48 ± 9.06) U/L,(5.00 ± 0.60) mmol/L,(1.70 ± 0.40) mmol/L,(4.63 ± 2.36) μg/L,(6.20± 1.6) respectively,significantly different from that before treatment ((84.62 ± 14.88) U/L,(49.12 ± 16.56)U/L,(5.70 ± 1.60) mmol/L,(2.78 ± 0.50) mmol/L,(14.78 ± 3.68) μg/L,(7.6 ± 2.1),t =14.255,11.272,8.371,9.941,8.102,37.626,P ＜ 0.01).The levels of serum ALT,AST,TC,TG,LP and ISI of patient were no significant difference before treatment,but after treatment,these indexes in combined therapy group were the lowest among 4 groups (P ＜ 0.05).And there were no significant difference among control group,compound glycyrrhizin group,puerarin group (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Compound glycyrrhizin combined with puerarin is proved to be an effect treatment method for NAFLD through decreasing serum leptin,improving insulin resistance.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility , toxicity and clinical efficacy of intensity-modulated radiotherapy using the simultaneous integrated boost (SIB- IMRT) and concurrent chemotherapy for advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Methods Thirty nsopharyngeal carcinoma were treated with full course IMRT including nasopharynx and full neck to supraclavicle. The radiotherapy dosage is 68 Gy to the target. Concurrent chemotherapy was given, and the regimen was DDP 40 mg/m2/weekly.Results The mean dose of covering gross tumor volume(PGTV) (D95) in the nasopharynx was 70.48 Gy, and the mean volume of PGTV1 receiving the 95 % dose(V95) was 98. 46 %. The mean dose of PGTV1, PGTV2, PCTV1 and PCTV2 in the targets were 70.8 Gy, 66.4 Gy, 62.3 Gy and 54.8 Gy. According to the evaluation, the acute skin,mucositis and salivary toxicity with grade Ⅲ in those patients were 3.3 %, 10 %, 6.6 %. The patients developed different blood toxicity, but didn't affect their treatment. The median follow-up time was 6.5 months, and disease free survival rate was 100 %. Conclusion SIB-IMRT yields well dose distribution and acceptable toxicity in advanced stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The preliminary clinical result is encouraging.

Heat shock protein gp96 is a glycoprotein which was found several years ago. Besides its function as a molecular chaperone, it is also reported to play important roles both in innate immunity and adaptive immunity. Gp96 can stimulate the maturation of antigen presenting cells (especially dendritic cells) and the secretion of cytokines. Gp96 and its associated peptides could stimulate peptide specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte reaction (CTL), which was very promising in the designing of anti-virus and anti-tumor vaccines. However the expression level of whole length gp96 was relatively low in E. coli and the purity of gp96 are not very suitable for further study. We successfully cloned the carboxy terminal fragment (560aa-751aa) of murine gp96 into the pGEX-6p-1 vector and expressed in BL21 strain. This fragment contains the peptide binding domain and the dimerization domain. After purification, the recombinant fusion protein was cleaved with the PreScission Protease and analyzed by Gelfiltration. The results show that this fragment may be related to the dimerization of gp96 and make an foundation for further investigations of the protein.
Animals ; Antigens, Neoplasm ; genetics ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, Gel ; Cloning, Molecular ; Mice ; Peptide Fragments ; genetics ; Recombinant Fusion Proteins ; biosynthesis ; isolation & purification

Objective To propose a new suggestion for the clinical downstaging of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) without changing the current T,N,and M staging system.Methods We reviewed the records of 536 NPC patients treated in Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center from January 2002 to December 2006.The Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the disease-specific survival (DSS) rate,and the log-rank test was used for survival difference analysis.The Cox regression model was used to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) of each subset.ResultsAccording to the 7th edition of UICC/AJCC staging system,the 5-year DSS rates of stage Ⅰ-Ⅲ patients (except T3N2M0) were all more than 85%(P>0.05),those of stage ⅣA and ⅣB patients were 71.8% and 46.2%,respectively (P=0.171),and that of stage ⅠVC patients was only 24.0%.In stage Ⅲ,the 5-year DSS rate of non-T3N2M0 patients (91.5%) was significantly higher than that of T3N2M0 patients (78.6%)(P=0.042),but there was no significant difference in DSS between T3N2M0 patients and stage ⅣA and ⅣB patients.Based on the above results,new stage Ⅰ included T1-3N0-1M0 and T1-2N2M0,new stage Ⅱ included T3N2M0,T4N0-2M0,and TxN3M0,and new stage Ⅲ included TxNxM1.The 5-year DSS rates of new stage Ⅰ,Ⅱ,and Ⅲ patients were 93.3%,72.7%,and 24.0%,respectively (P=0.000).Compared with new stage Ⅰ patients,new stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ patients had HRs of 4.01 and 16.76,respectively,for 5-year DSS.Conclusions In the era of IMRT,the new clinical staging system (stages Ⅰ,Ⅱ,and Ⅲ) helps with prognostic evaluation and clinical treatment.