VEGF Promoter Polymorphism Confers an Increased Risk of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in a Chinese Population

PURPOSE: Evidence on the contribution of genes to the hereditary predisposition to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is limited. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we hypothesized that single nucleotide variants in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene may alter gene function and expression and may be associated with PAH risk. Five putatively functional loci (rs699947C>A and rs833061T>C in the promoter, rs3025040C>T, rs10434G>A and rs3025053G>A in the 3'-UTR) in the VEGF gene were genotyped and analyzed in a retrospective study of 587 patients with PAH and 736 healthy subjects from southern China. RESULTS: We found that the rs833061T>C polymorphism was significantly associated with PAH risk, while the other single nucleotide polymorphisms were not. Compared to carriers with TT genotype, those with rs833061C variant genotype (CT/CC) had an increased risk of PAH (odds ratio=1.47, 95% confidence interval=1.18–1.83, p=0.001). Functional assays indicated that CT/CC variant genotype had significantly higher mRNA levels of VEGF in peripheral blood mononuclear cells than TT genotype (p=0.021). Luciferase reporter assay indicated that having a C allele conferred a significantly higher transcription activity than that with a T allele. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the functional polymorphism rs833061T>C in VEGF gene promoter modulates VEGF expression and may be a valuable biomarker for predicting PAH susceptibility.

Clinical investigation of compound glycyrrhizin combined with bozhi glycopeptide in treatment of erythema nodosum / 中国医师进修杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical effect and safety of compound glycyrrhizin combined with bozhi glycopeptide in treatment of erythema nodosum.Methods Sixty-four patients with erythema nodosum were divided into treatment group (36 cases) and control group (28 cases) by random digits table method.The patients in treatment group were given compound glycyrrhizin 120 mg,intravenous drip,once a day;and bozhi glycopeptide 4 ml,intravenous drip,once a day.The patients in control group were given compound glycyrrhizin 120 mg,intravenous drip,once a day.The clinical efficacy and recurrence were compared between 2 groups.Results The total effective rate in treatment group was significantly higher than that in control group [86.1％ (31/36) vs.57.1％ (16/28)],there was statistical difference (P ＜ 0.05).Follow-up for 3 months,the rate of recurrence in treatment group was significantly lower than that in control group [16.1％(5/31) vs.8/16],there was statistical difference (P＜ 0.05).Conclusion Compound glycyrrhizin combined with bozhi glycopeptide can effectively control the erythema nodosum,and has no significant adverse reactions,reduces the rate of recurrence,and it is worthy of promotion and application.

Coagulation-fibrinolysis dynamics during open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective: To observe the balance of modified coagulation and fibrinolysis in patients undergoing open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CBP). Method: The balance of modified coagulation-fibrinolysis in 20 cases were measured by coagulation-fibrinolysis dynamicography instrument (FD-Ⅲ) at the pre-CPB, post-CPB, 24, 48 and 168 hours postoperatively. Result: At the post-CPB, coagulation starting time(CST), maximum coagulation time (MCT), whole time of fibrinolysis reaction (WFT) and balance time (BLT) were significantly more than at pre-CPB (P