Glycyrrhizic Acid/adverse effects* ; Humans ; Hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To compare accuracy of anterior cervical pedicle screws between assist of rapid prototyping 3D guide plate and free-hand insertion, and evaluate the safety of two methods. METHODS: Eight adult cervical cadaver specimens after formaldehyde immersion, including 4 males and 4 females, aged 32 to 65(40.3±5.6) years old. After X-ray examination to exclude bone damage and deformity, 4 of them (3D guide plate group) randomly selected were for CT scan to obtain DICOM format data, and the data was imported into Mimics software for model, designed the ideal entry point and nail path for anterior cervicaltranspedicular screw (ATPS). After obtaining the personalized guide plate of the nail channel, it was exported as STL data, and the individual guide plate was printed by rapid prototyping and 3D printing technology. In turn, with the assistance of 3D guide plates, one-to-one personalized ATPS screws were placed on the four lower cervical cadaver specimens. Another 4 (free-hand group) lower cervical cadaver specimens were implanted with ATPS screws using free-hand technique. All specimens were performed CT thin-layer scanning and three-dimensional reconstruction after operation. The Tomasino method was used to evaluate the safety of the screws on the CT cross-sectional and sagittal images, to determine whether there was a cortical puncture of the lower and inner edges of the pedicle. According to the CT rating results, gradeⅠandⅡwere safe, and grade Ⅲ- Ⅴ were dangerous.And the accuracy of screws was recorded and analyzed between two groups. RESULTS: Two screws were inserted in each segment from C CONCLUSION The 3D printing rapid prototyping guide plate assisted insertion of the anterior cervical pedicle screw can significantly improve the accuracy and safety, and provide a theoretical basis for further clinical application.
Adult ; Aged ; Bone Plates ; Cervical Vertebrae/surgery* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pedicle Screws ; Printing, Three-Dimensional

A 57-year-old male patient was referred to our department with complaints of his right adrenal gland occupancy and hypertension about 6 months. When admitted to the hospital, the blood pressure was about 160/100 mmHg, and the heart rate was 110 beats/min. He was no obvious obesity, acne, abnormal mood, without weakness of limbs, acral numbness, palpitation and headache. He presented with type 2 diabetes for more than 3 years, with oral administration of metformin enteric coated tablets and subcutaneous injection of insulin glargine to control blood glucose, and satisfied with blood glucose control. Enhanced CT showed that: the right adrenal gland showed a kind of oval isodense, slightly hypodense shadow, the edge was clear, lobular change, the size was about 5.8 cm×5.4 cm, uneven density, there were nodular and strip calcification, round lipid containing area and strip low density area, and the CT value of solid part was about 34 HU. Enhanced scan showed heterogeneous nodular enhancement in the solid part of the right adrenal gland, nodular enhancement could be seen inside. The CT values of solid part in arterial phase, venous phase and delayed phase were 45 HU, 50 HU and 81 HU, respectively. Considering from the right adrenal gland, cortical cancer was more likely. No obvious abnormality was found in his endocrine examination. After adequate preoperative preparation, retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy was performed under general anesthesia. During the operation, the 6 cm adrenal tumor was closely related to the inferior vena cava and liver, and after careful separation, the tumor was completely removed and normal adrenal tissue was preserved. The operation lasted 180 min and the blood loss was 100 mL, and the blood pressure was stable during and after the operation. There was no obvious complication. The results of pathological examinations were as follows: the size of the tumor was 7.5 cm×6.0 cm×3.5 cm, soft, with intact capsule and grayish-red cystic in section. Pathological diagnosis: (right adrenal gland) cavernous hemangioma, secondary intravascular thrombosis, old hemorrhagic infarction with calcification and ossification. After 6 months of observation, no obvious complications and tumor recurrence were found. In summary, cavernous hemangioma of adrenal gland is a rare histopathological change. Its essence is a malformed vascular mass. Blood retention is the cause of thrombosis and calcification in malformed vessels. The imaging findings were inhomogeneous enhancement of soft tissue masses, and the adrenal function examination showed no obvious abnormalities. Retroperitoneal laparoscopic surgery is feasible after adequate preoperative preparation. It is difficult to diagnose the disease preoperatively and needs to be confirmed by postoperative pathology.
Adrenal Gland Neoplasms/surgery* ; Adrenalectomy ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Hemangioma, Cavernous/surgery* ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local

OBJECTIVE: To explore the molecular mechanism of sorafenib resistance in hepatoma cells and identify for new targets to reverse drug resistance. METHODS: THP-1 cells were induced into M2 tumor-associated macrophages (M2-TAMs) in vitro and identified by immunofluorescence. SMMC-7721 cells were co-cultured with M2-TAMs with or without sorafenib treatment. CCK-8 assay was used to observe the inhibitory effect of sorafenib on the cell proliferation. Annexin V/PI double staining and protein immunoblotting were used to assess the effect of sorafenib on the proliferation, apoptosis and the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins and autophagy-related protein in SMMC-7721 cells co-cultured with M2-TAMs in the presence or absence of the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine (CQ). RESULTS: The IC of sorafenib at 48 h was 2.25 μmol/L in SMMC-7721 cells cultured alone, and increased to 4.72 μmol/L in the cells co-cultured with M2-TAMs. Compared with the cells cultured alone, the co-cultured SMMC-7721 cells showed significantly reduced apoptosis rate in response to sorafenib ( < 0.01) and significantly increased expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-2/Bax ratio ( < 0.05) with also increased LC3-II/LC3-I ratio ( < 0.001) and lowered expression of p62 ( < 0.05), suggesting a significantly enhanced level of autophagy. CQ treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of the co-cultured SMMC-7721 cells ( < 0.05), increased the cell apoptosis ( < 0.05) and reduced the Bcl-2/Bax ratio ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS M2-TAMs can attenuate the inhibitory effect of sorafenib on the proliferation of hepatoma cells by increasing the level of autophagy, suggesting a new strategy for reversing sorafenib resistance induced by the tumor microenvironment by inhibiting autophagy.
Apoptosis ; Autophagy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Humans ; Liver Neoplasms ; Macrophages ; Sorafenib

OBJECTIVETo explore the single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-LOOP region in peripheral blood lymphocytes of immuno-related pancytopenia (IRP) patients and its correlation with immune parameters.

METHODSThe D-LOOP region in mitochondrial DNA of lymphocytes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 43 patients with untreated IRP was detected by polymerase chain reaction(PCR). The PCR products were sequenced by the pros and cons direct sequencing methods. The sequencing results were compared with the revised Cambridge reference sequence (rCRS) and the Polymorphic Sites of Human Mitochondrial Genome Database.

RESULTSAmong total of 110 variant positions of D-LOOP region in 43 patients, 62 was SNP sites and 48 was mutation sites, of which 14 were the new mutation sites not yet registered in the database, 516 base variations were observed at 110 positions, the most common variations were base substitutions, among them T/C and A/G was 184/410 and 113/410 respectively. In the 110 variant positions, the high frequency variation sites were 73 and 263 for 43/43,311 for 32/43,310 and 16 224 for 27/43,16 519 for 25/43, 489 and 16 362 for 24/43. By the analysis of mitochondrial DNA D-LOOP polymorphism and related clinical immunology indicators of the patient's lymphocytes, it was found that D-loop in adult patients (age≥ 18 years old) significantly correlated with CD15 IgM, GLYCoACells IgM, CD34CellsIgG, CD34Cells IgM correlation.

CONCLUSIONThe high frequency of polymorphism exists in mitochondrial DNA D-loop region of lymphocytes in IRPA patients, and was significantly correlates with the autoantibodies in bone marrow mononuclear cells in adult patients, which may be associated with the IRP occurrence.

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of oxiracetam combined with nimodipine on cognitive impairment patients with type 2 diabetes and to investigate its mechanisms.Methods Ninety patients with cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into oxiracetam group (A) (n =30) with oxiracetam 800 mg, tid, po;nimodipine group (B) (n=30) with nimodipine 20 mg, tid, po;and combined group (C) (n=30) with oxiracetam plus nimodipine of the same dose.After tweleve-week treatment,the Montreal cognitive assessment ( MoCA ) and activities of daily living ( ADL ) scale were evaluated.Neuron -specific enolase ( NSE ) and S -100βprotein expressions in blood serum and drug adverse reactions were also evalua-ted.Results After tweleve-week treatment, MoCA score was signifi-cantly increased ( P<0.05 ) and ADL scale was significantly reduced in all of the three groups ( P <0.05 ) , and the changes in the C group was much more obvious than other two groups (P <0.01).After treatment, NSE and S-100βprotein expressions in blood serum of group A and B were obviously reduced compared with before treatment ( P <0.05 ) , while group C were more dramatically reduced compared with A and B group ( P <0.01 ) . No obvious side effect was observed in the period of treatment in all the three groups. Conclusion Oxiracetam combined with nimodipine treatment was superior to either of the single regiment in the treatment of cognitive impairment in type 2 diabetes without increasing the risk of developing side effect by inhibiting NSE and S-100βexpressions.

To study the effects of conjee and cooked rice on postprandial glucose and plasma insulin levels in type 2 diatetes,and to help diabetic patients select reasonably food.41 diabetes were divided into cooked rice group ( group A),conjee with steamed bread group ( group B),and oatmeal group ( group C ).At 1 h after meal,the values of postprandial plasma glucose (PPG) was significantly lower in group C than those in group A and group B [ ( 11.17± 2.30 vs 12.88 ± 1.29,13.29 ± 1.97 ) mmol/L,P ＜ 0.05 ].At 2 h after meal,the value of PPG was significantly lower in group C than in group A [ ( 8.88 ± 2.66 vs 10.87 ± 1.63 ) mmol/L,P ＜0.05 ].At 1 h and 2 h after meal,there was no significant difference between the value of PPG in goup A and group B ( P＞0.05 ).At 1 h after meal,the value of plasma insulin was significantly lower in group C than those in group B [ (46.02 ± 26.32 vs 88.56 ± 68.75 )μU/ml,P ＜0.05 ],and there was a littler higher in group B than group A ( P＞0.05 ).At 2 h after meal,there was no statistical difference of plasma insulin among group A,B,C [ ( 57.10 ± 33.56,62.26 ± 24.42,54.16 ± 41.35 )μU/ml,P＞0.05 ) ].Isocaloric oat food is potentially beneficial in sustaining blood glucose status and decreasing insulin secretion.It is the ideal choice for type 2 diabetes.Meanwhile,there were no statistical differences in PPG and insulin levels between the individuals taking conjee with steam bread and cooked rice.

Objective To study the epidemiological characteristics on the clustering nature of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in China.Methods Time and place distribution of pandemic (H1N1) 2009on the nature of clustering through data from Public Health Emergency Management Information System were described.Results As of August 10,2010,2773 pandemic (H1N1) 2009 clusters,a total of 77363 cases (including 20 deaths) were reported in the mainland of China.The most reported number of clusters was from schools and kindergartens with the total number of 2498 (accounted for 90.08％ of the total number).Middle schools appeared the have the most clusters (1223,accounting for 48.96％ ).The number of clusters reported in the southern provinces (cities) accounted for 77.03％ of the total,and was more than that in the northern provinces (cities).Two reported peaks in the southern provinces (cities) were in June and November,2009,respectively.There was only one reported peakin the northern provinces in September,2009.Conclusion Time and place distribution characteristics on the clusters of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 were similar to the seasonal influenza,but the beginning of winter peak was much earlier and intensity of reporting was much higher on the clusters of pandemic (H1N1 ) 2009 than that of seasonal influenza.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the usefulness of an ultrasonography-based method to examine quadriceps femoris contracting. MethodsThe thickness of bilateral rectus femoris (RF) and vastus intermedius (VI) and the cross-sectional area (CSA) of RF was measured in 10 healthy subjects （n=20） in a relaxed position and 3 isometric contraction states using ultrasonography by two examiners. The date was compared with paired t test. Half of these subjects （n=10） were also measured with MRI at rest. The date was also compared with paired t test. ResultsThere was no significant difference between MRI and static compound ultrasonography, nor between two examiners. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in thickness of RF and VI between relaxed and isometric contraction conditions. There was no significant difference among isometric contraction conditions. There was no significant difference among measurements of RF-CSA. Conclusionultrasonography shows good validity and reliability in measuring quadriceps shape.

Objective To study the clinical manifestations and treatment methods of hyperprolactinemia (HPRL), a common disorder encountered in clinical practice, and explore its association with prolactinomas. Methods The clinical data, hormone profile and imaging data of 166females with documented HPRL, admitted to our hospital from January 2005 to January 2010, for over a period of 5 years, including 4 years of retrospective analysis and 1 year of prospective study, were retrospectively analyzed. Results Most patients aged 20-40 with abnormal menstruation as their most common symptom; 141 patients (84.9％) appeared abnormal menstruation and 1 14 (68.7％) with galactorrhea. Microadenoma was noted in 62 patients (37.3％), nonfunctioning pituitary macroadenoma involved stalk occurred in 26 patients (15.7％). As compared with that in patients with idiopathic HPRL ([93.9±20.4]ng/mL), the level ofprolactin in patients with microprolactinoma ([161.2±60.6]ng/mL) was significantly higher (P＜0.05); as compared with that in patients with prolactin microadenoma, the level of prolactin in patients with domperidone caused drug-induced HPRL ([240.2±29.4]ng/mL) was obviously increased (P＜0.05). Conclusion We cannot confirm whether a HPRL patient has prolactinomas only through detecting the level of prolactin. Microprolactinoma is the most common cause of HPRL, followed by idiopathic cause.