Objective To observe the distribution of mesencephalic astrocyte derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) within the brain in human, mice and rats and the comparison across the species. Methods An immunohistochemical method was applied to investigate the expression of MANF and to compare the differences among species in the brain of human specimens ( n = 5) , mice ( n = 6) , and rats ( n = 6). Results The expression of MANF varied in different brain regions in human, mice and rats. In human, in the cortex, the expression of MANF was the highest among all brain regions. In the subcortical areas or the nucleus, brainstem and cerebellum expression level of MANF were relatively lower. The distribution of MANF in mouse and rat brain were slightly different from that in human brain, but generally consistent. Conclusion The distribution pattern of MANF is similar across the species, however, within a species, MANF expression levels varies in different brain regions.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress on Nrf2 signaling pathway in the kidneys of rats. METHODS: Rats were divided into twelve groups of six animals each. Some groups were pre-administered with bacitracin or tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), and all of them were treated with 5-20 μmol/kg cadmium (Cd) for 48 h. The oxidative stress levels were analyzed using kits. The mRNA and protein expression levels of endoplasmic reticulum stress-related factors and Nrf2 signaling pathway-related factors were determined using RT-PCR and western blot. RESULTS: Cd exposure resulted in oxidative stress in the kidneys of rats and upregulated the expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS)-related factors and Nrf2 signaling pathway-related factors, especially at doses of 10 and 20 μmol/kg Cd, and the expression changes were particularly obvious. Moreover, after pretreatment with bacitracin, Cd upregulated the expression of ERS-related factors to a certain extent and, at higher doses, increased the mRNA expression of Nrf2. After pretreatment with TUDCA, Cd reduced the level of ERS to a certain extent; however, at these doses, there were no significant changes in the expression of Nrf2. CONCLUSION Cadmium can result in ERS and oxidative stress in the kidneys of rats, activate Nrf2, and upregulate the transcriptional expression of phase II detoxification enzymes under these experimental conditions. ERS has a positive regulation effect on Nrf2 signaling pathway but has little effect on the negative regulation of Nrf2 signaling pathway in cadmium toxicity.
Animals ; Cadmium ; toxicity ; Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress ; drug effects ; Environmental Pollutants ; toxicity ; Female ; Kidney ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; NF-E2-Related Factor 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Signal Transduction ; drug effects ; Taurochenodeoxycholic Acid ; pharmacology

We investigated epidemiological characteristic of scrub typhus in Yongshan County,Yunnan Province,China. The serum samples were collected from the patients with fever for detecting the antibody against Orientia tsutsugamsushi (Ot) by colloidal gold immunoassay assay.Rat traps were used to capture rodents.The spleen tissues of the captured rodents were detected by nested-polymerase chain reaction for rickettsia groEL segment.The groEL segments were sequenced and analyzed the homology with the other known sequences.Thirty-four scrub typhus cases were found in Yongshan County,Yunnan Prov-ince from May 2015 to October 2015.Among them,21 cases were confirmed by laboratory tests and 13 cases were clinical di-agnosis diseases.Of these patients,32.35% of the cases occurred in June.The 32.35% were in the group of the 40-49 year-old,and 79.41% were farmers,94.12% exhibited eschar or skin ulcer(31.25% were observed in groin of these cases),and rash developed in 50%.In 39 spleen tissue samples of Rattus flavipectus,9 samples showed positive for groEL gene Ot,but gro-EL gene of Typhus group rickettsia and spotted fever group rickettsia were negative.Sequence analysis showed that YSP30 was closely related to some Saitama related strains of Ot,such as HSB1,FAR1 and UAP4,while the other 8 strains were closely related to some Karp related strains of Ot,such as UT213,UT221 and SH205.It was confirmed that the Yongshan County was the natural foci of scrub typhus by the serological and molecular biological detections.There are Karp and Saitama genotype related Ots in the natural foci.

Urinary tract infection (UTI) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) belongs to the category of stranguria. This article describes the unsatisfactory situations in clinical practice such as antibiotics abuse, increasing of drug-resistant bacteria, high recurrence rate, etc. According to evidence-based medicine, literatures as evidence are collected for summarizing and analyzing and the result shows the advantages of TCM of relieving symptoms, reducing the dosage of antibiotics, less side effects, lower recurrence rate, etc. In the field of fundamental research, literatures associated with UTI are also summarized and analysed from several perspectives, such as causes, pathogenesis, syndrome differentiation, pharmacological effects of Chinese herbal medicine, working mechanism of non-drug therapy, etc and the result presents that integrated treatment of TCM in UTI has significant advangtages and its own characteristic.

Background:The prognostic significance of ABO blood type for lymphoma is largely unknown.We evaluated the prognostic role of ABO blood type in patients with extranodal natural killer (NK)/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL).Methods:We retrospectively analyzed clinical data of 697 patients with newly diagnosed ENKTL from three cancer centers.The prognostic value of ABO blood type was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard models.The prognostic values of the International Prognostic Index (IPI) and the Korean Prognostic Index (KPI) were also evaluated.Results:Compared with patients with blood type O,those with blood type non-O tended to display elevated baseline serum C-reactive protein levels (P =0.038),lower rate of complete remission (P =0.005),shorter progression-free survival (PFS,P ＜ 0.001),and shorter overall survival (OS,P =0.001).Patients with blood type O/AB had longer PFS (P ＜ 0.001) and OS (P =0.001) compared with those with blood type A/B.Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age ＞60 years (P ＜ 0.001),mass ＞5 cm (P =0.001),stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ (P ＜ 0.001),elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels (P =0.001),and blood type non-O were independent adverse predictors of OS (P =0.001).ABO blood type was found to be superior to both the IPI in discriminating patients with different outcomes in the IPI low-risk group and the KPI in distinguishing between the intermediate-to-low-and high-to-intermediate-risk groups.Conclusions:ABO blood type was an independent predictor of clinical outcome for patients with ENKTL.

BACKGROUNDOptimizing treatment outcomes for depression requires understanding of how evidence-based treatments are utilized in clinical practice. Antipsychotic medications concurrent with antidepressant treatment are frequently used in major depression, but few studies have investigated trends and patterns of their use over time. This study aimed to examine the prescription patterns of antipsychotic medications for major depression in China from 2002 to 2012 and their association with treatment satisfaction and quality of life (QOL).

METHODSA total of 3655 subjects with major depression treated in 45 Chinese psychiatric hospitals/centers nationwide were interviewed between 2002 and 2012. Patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics including psychopathology, medication side effects, satisfaction with treatment and QOL were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection.

RESULTSThe frequency of antipsychotic use was 24.9% in the whole sample; the corresponding figures were 17.1%, 20.3%, and 32.8% in 2002, 2006, and 2012, respectively (χ2 = 90.3, df = 2, P < 0.001). Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that patients on concurrent antipsychotics had significantly more delusions or hallucinations, longer illness duration, greater side effects, and more likely to be treated as inpatients and in major hospitals (i.e., Level-III hospital). Antipsychotic use was associated with lower treatment satisfaction while there was no significant difference with respect to physical and mental QOL between the antipsychotic and nonantipsychotic groups.

CONCLUSIONSConcurrent antipsychotic use was found in about one in four treated depressed patients in China, which has increased over a 10-year period. Considering the association of drug-induced side effects and the lack of patients' and relatives' satisfaction with antipsychotic treatment, further examination of the rationale and appropriateness of the use of antipsychotics in depression is needed.

Adult ; Antipsychotic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Depressive Disorder, Major ; drug therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Personal Satisfaction ; Psychotropic Drugs ; therapeutic use ; Quality of Life

China ; Genetic Testing ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase ; genetics ; Glucosephosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency ; genetics ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Mutation

This study was aimed to explore whether multiple common gene mutations of leukemia synergistically involved in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) pathogenesis, and to investigate their relevance to clinical features, cytogenetics and molecular risk stratification. 84 specimens of admitted de novo APL patients from February 2005 to October 2010 were collected, the gene mutations of bone marrow mononuclear cells and clinical features of mutation-positive patients were analyzed by genomic DNA-PCR. The results indicated that the prevalence of mutations was 60.7% (51/84), in which the mutations with the highest incidence were found as FLT3-ITD, reaching 27.4% (23/84). Next, there were 12 cases WT1 mutation, 9 for FLT3-TKD, 7 for TET2, 5 for N-RAS, 4 for ASXL1, 2 for EZH2 mutation and 1 positive case in MLL-PTD, IDH1 and CBL mutation respectively. No mutation was found in other JAK1, DNMT3, c-Kit, NPM1, IDH2, RUNX1 and JAK2 (V617F) common leukemia-related genes. Combined analysis with clinical data demonstrated that the patients with FLT3-ITD mutation displayed higher white blood cell counts, while the patients with N-RAS mutation showed lower platelet counts. Overall survival of these patients was obviously shorten as compared with patients with wild-type. This difference between mutant and wild-type of all above mentioned cases was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The difference between APL with simple t (15;17) and additional abnormal karyotype was not statistically significant. It is concluded that the FLT3-ITD mutation is recurrent genetic change in APL, and together with N-RAS mutation indicates poor prognosis. Additional abnormal karyotype does not associate with prognosis of APL.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; DNA-Binding Proteins ; genetics ; Enhancer of Zeste Homolog 2 Protein ; Female ; Genes, ras ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Nuclear Proteins ; genetics ; Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 ; genetics ; Prognosis ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins ; genetics ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit ; genetics ; Repressor Proteins ; genetics ; Tandem Repeat Sequences ; Young Adult ; fms-Like Tyrosine Kinase 3 ; genetics

OBJECTIVETo explore the risk factors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) recurrence in adult patients and establish a prognosis index (PI) calculation model in order to improve the prevention strategy of ALL in adults.

METHODS104 adult ALL patients from Blood Diseases Hospital & Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences between August 2008 and November 2011 were enrolled. COX proportional hazards regression stratified by Dummy variable was used to set up the prediction model; Kaplan-Meier method and Log-rank test were used to estimate and compare the survival. After calculated individual PI value, patients' expected survival should be estimated by groups.

RESULTSThe overall median survival of adult ALL patients was 22.00 months (95% CI 17.00-27.00). COX regression analysis showed that chemotherapy group patients had a higher risk of recurrence than of ASCT group while setting treatment as the dummy variable (RR=2.052, 95%CI 0.877-4.799, P=0.007). Stratified Analysis showed that the risk factors of B-ALL recurrence in adult patients included HGB <100 g/L (RR=0.186, 95% CI 0.068-0.512, P=0.001), CNSL (RR=7.767,95% CI 2.951- 20.433, P=0.001), number of consolidation chemotherapy<3 (RR=0.445, 95% CI 0.211-0.940, P=0.034) and Ph chromosome positive (RR=2.771, 95% CI 1.353-5.674, P=0.005). Grouped by the PI value, the expected survival of each individual patient could be estimated as PI=0.58 base.

CONCLUSIONHGB, CNSL, number of consolidation chemotherapy and Ph chromosome were independent risk factors of B-ALL recurrence in adult patients. PI value could predict the survival of adult ALL patients and provide reference for individual therapy and prognostic evaluation.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; epidemiology ; pathology ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Risk Assessment ; Risk Factors ; Young Adult

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of sodium valproate in a higher dose in the evening for treating nocturnal and early-morning seizures.Methods A total of 69 newly diagnosed pediatric patients with nocturnal or early-morning seizures were enrolled.They were randomly distributedinto experimental group (35 cases) and control group (34 cases) and treated with sodium valproate tablets.The initial dose was little.It was gradually increased to the effective maintenance dose.With sodium valproate given twice a day,the post meridiem(PM) dose was twice the ante meridiem(AM) dose in the experimental group,while the PM/AM dose was equal in the control group.All patients were at least been followed up for 6 months.Results In the experimental group,28 cases were seizure free (80.0％),and the total effective rate was 85.7％.In the control group,20 cases were seizure free (58.8％),and the total effective rate was 64.7％.The difference in the total effective rate between the 2 groups was significant (P ＜ 0.05).No severe adverse effect was found among all patients.The incidence of daytime sleepiness (0/35 cases) in the experimental group was lower than that in the control group (2/34 cases).Conclusions A higher dose of sodium valproate in the evening for nocturnal and early-morning seizures led to better seizure control,better nocturnal sleep,less daytime somnolence,and the side effects are slight.