ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the values of CT angiography (CTA) and color Doppler ultrasound in the diagnosis and etiological screening of varicocele (VC).Methods:Ninety-seven patients with VC diagnosed by the Department of Urology, Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine Affiliated Haikou Hospital from May 2016 to December 2017 were retrospectively included. The CTA and color Doppler ultrasonographic data of 194 spermatic veins (including 116 varicocele veins) were analyzed. Paired t test was used to compare the mean diameter of spermatic veins at the root of scrotum measured by CTA and color Doppler ultrasound. McNemar test was used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of CTA and color Doppler examination for VC, and χ 2 or Fisher exact probability was used to compare the detection rate of CTA and color Doppler examination in screening the etiology of VC. Results:The average diameters of scrotal root of spermatic veins by CTA and color Doppler ultrasonography were (2.9±0.6) and (3.0±0.6) mm for VC cases, with no significant difference found( t=0.885, P=0.381). According to the diagnostic VC standard of color Doppler ultrasound (diameter>2 mm), no significant difference was found between CTA and color Doppler ultrasound in the sensitivity [95.69%(111/116) vs. 100%(116/116)] and specificity [100%(78/78) vs. 100%(78/78)] in the diagnosis of VC. The etiological detection rate of CTA in 97 patients with VC was significantly higher than that of color Doppler ultrasound ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Both CTA and color Doppler ultrasound have high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of VC. CTA has a higher etiological detection rate in etiological screening of VC than color Doppler ultrasound.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:Homing is the initial and key procedure of stem cel s-based tissue restoration. Current studies have shown that the inability to recruit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cel s to target tissue with high efficiency remains a significant barrier to tissue restoration. Preconditioning strategy provides a new insight to promote stem cel homing. OBJECTIVE:To review preconditioning strategies for promoting the homing of stem cel s. METHODS:In PubMed database, different combinations of terms from“stem cel , mesenchymal stem cel s, preconditioning, homing, migration”served as search terms to retrieve articles referring preconditioning strategies for promoting mesenchymal stem cel homing published from January 2000 to September 2015. According to the inclusion criteria, 72 articles were selected for final review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Pretreating target tissue or mesenchymal stem cel s ahead of cel transplantation, known as tissue preconditioning or cel preconditioning, prominently promotes the homing of mesenchymal stem cel s, therefore enhancing tissue restoration effect. Tissue preconditioning is designed to up-regulate expression of chemokines by varying the local microenvironment, thereby increasing homing ability of mesechymal stem cel s. Mesenchymal stem cel preconditioning strategies, for example, gene modification and cytokine induction, are mainly to up-regulate expression of chemokine receptors on the surface of mesenchymal stem cel s as effectors, and thus promote targeted cel homing. Overal , preconditioning strategy wil bring great hope to apply stem cel therapy into the clinic.