Depression of the Thoracolumbar Posterior Vertebral Body on the Estimation of Cement Leakage in Vertebroplasty and Kyphoplasty Operations / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The cross-section of thoracolumbar vertebral body is kidney-shaped with depressed posterior boundary. The anterior wall of the vertebral canal is separated from the posterior wall of the vertebral body on the lateral X-ray image. This study was designed to determine the sagittal distance between the anterior border of the vertebral canal and the posterior border of the vertebral body (DBCV) and to analyze the potential role of DBCV in the estimation of cement leakage during percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) or percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively recruited 233 patients who had osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and were treated with PVP or PKP. Computed tomography images of T11-L2 normal vertebrae were measured to obtain DBCV. The distance from cement to the posterior wall of the vertebral body (DCPW) of thoracolumbar vertebrae was measured from C-arm images. The selected vertebrae were divided into two groups according to DCPW, with the fracture levels, fracture grades and leakage rates of the two groups compared. A relative operating characteristic (ROC) curve was applied to determine whether the DCPW difference can be used to estimate the degree of cement leakage. The data were processed by statistical software SPSS version 21.0 using independent sample t-test and Chi-square tests.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The maximum DBCV was 6.40 mm and the average DBCV was 3.74 ± 0.95 mm. DBCV appeared to be longer in males than in females, but the difference was not statistically significant. The average DCPW of type-B leakage vertebrae (2.59 ± 1.20 mm) was shorter than that of other vertebrae (7.83 ± 2.38 mm, P < 0.001). The leakage rate of group DCPW ≤6.40 mm was lower than that of group DCPW >6.40 mm for type-C and type-S, but much higher for type-B. ROC curve revealed that DCPW only has a predictive value for type-B leakage (area under the curve: 0.98, 95% confidence interval: 0.95-0.99, P < 0.001), and when the cut-off value was 4.05 mm, the diagnostic sensitivity and the specificity were 94.87% and 93.02%, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Depression of the thoracolumbar posterior vertebral body may be informative for the estimation of cement location on C-arm images. To reduce type-B leakage, DCPW should be made longer than DBCV on C-arm images for safety during PVP or PKP.</p>

Linkage of three polymorphisms on chromosome 20p12 to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of spine and its severity in Han Chinese patients / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is characterized by the replacement of ligamentous tissue with new ectopic bone formation, and has a strong genetic background. Because of the abnormal bone metabolic features and the strong genetic component, osteoporosis is a related disorder with OPLL. Three polymorphisms on chromosome 20p12 were identified associated with the risk of osteoporosis and osteoporotic fracture. The rs996544 (C/T) "TT" and rs965291 (G/A) "AA" genotypes conferred higher risks for vertebral and hip fractures. The osteoporosis haplotype is defined by two polymorphisms, rs1116867 (A) and D35548 (T). However, it remains unknown whether these three polymorphisms predispose to an increased frequency and severity of OPLL in Han Chinese patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 420 OPLL patients and 506 age- and sex-matched controls were studied. Three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs996544 (C/T), rs965291 (G/A) and rs1116867 (A/G), were analyzed by direct sequencing. Associations between these SNPs with the occurrence and extent of OPLL were statistically evaluated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was no significant association between the rs996544 (C/T) polymorphism and the prevalence of OPLL. The rs1116867 (A/G) polymorphism "AG" genotype was associated with the occurrence of OPLL. The rs1116867 (A/G) polymorphism "G" allele was associated with the occurrence of OPLL, but not with the extent of OPLL. The rs965291 (G/A) polymorphism in female patients was statistically different between cases and controls (P < 0.05). The rs965291 (G/A) polymorphism "A" allele was associated with the occurrence of OPLL in female patients. For the rs965291 (G/A) polymorphism, patients with the "A" allele (genotype, "AG" or "AA") showed a significantly greater number of ossified cervical vertebrae than those without the "A" allele (genotype, "GG", P < 0.05), particularly in female patients.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The rs1116867 (A/G) and rs965291 (G/A) polymorphisms on chromosome 20p12 are associated with the occurrence and the extent of OPLL, at least in Han Chinese subjects. Our data should advance our understanding of the molecular etiology of OPLL and may guide approaches to prevent the onset of OPLL.</p>

The effect of pro-angiogenic factors and their receptors on angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华肿瘤杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of pro-angiogenic factors and their receptors on angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Expression of VEGF/KDR and Angiopoietins/Tie2 was detected by RT-PCR and Western blot in 15 cases with hepatocellular carcinoma, 15 tumor adjacent tissues (<1 cm, >5 cm), 8 cirrhotic liver, and 4 normal liver. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect CD34 expression, and the relationship between neovascular density and angiogenesis was analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression levels of VEGF and Ang2 were significantly higher in hepacellular carcinoma group than those in the other groups (P < 0.01), and so did the expression of CD34. The expressions of KDR and Ang1/Tie2 showed no significant difference in all groups, but they indeed increased to various levels in tumor and tumor adjacent tissues as compared with those in cirrhosis and normal liver.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>VEGF/KDR and Angiopoietins/Tie2 may be the crucial signal pathways in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma.</p>

A study on the relationship between postmortem interval and the changes of DNA content in the kidney cellule of rat / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study changes of DNA content in the kidney cellule of rats and relationship with the postmortem interval.@*METHODS@#This experiment chose seven parameter of cell nuclear, including the area and integral optical density, determined the changes of DNA content in the kidney cellule of 15 rats at different intervals between 0 and 48 h postmortem with auto-TV-image system.@*RESULTS@#The degradation rate of DNA in nuclear has a certainty relationship to early PMI(in 48 h) of rat, and get binomial regress equation.@*CONCLUSION@#Determining the quantity of DNA in nuclear should be an objective and exact way to estimate the PMI.