Comparison of two kinds of induction therapy in childhood acute myeloid leukemia / 临床儿科杂志

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of induction therapy in 3+7 protocol and 3+10 protocol in children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods Two protocols were carried out in our hospital during January 2010 to January 2015, namely 3+7 protocol(AML-06,A group) and 3+10 protocol (modified AML protocol, B group). A total of 56 cases aged from 1 year-old to 13 year-old were enrolled in A group with male to female ratio at 31:25. Five of them were classified as FAB M1, 25 as M2, 11 as M4, 10 as M5, 2 as M6 and 3 as M7. Another 44 cases aged from 1 year to 12 years were enrolled in B group with a male to female ratio at 26:18, and 17 cases were classified as FAB M2, 14 as M4, 9 as M5, 2 as M6, and 2 as M7. Efficacy and adverse events were compared between the two groups. Results The complete remission rate (CR) of B group was 70.4%, while CR in A group was 48.2%. Considering the CR, 3+10 protocol showed higher efficacy than 3+7 protocol (P< 0.05). The major adverse event was bone marrow suppression. Treatment-related mortality (TRD) in A group was 1.8%, which was lower than that in B group (2.3%). The overall survival rate in A group was 75.0%, which was lower than that in B group (86.4%, P< 0.05). Conclusions The induction therapy of 3+10 protocol and 3+7 protocol showed effectiveness for AML treatment. The 3+10 protocol showed a higher CR than 3+7 protocol with no TRD increase, indicating that the 3+10 protocol should be recommended for AML treatment in children.

Gut flora and gut-derived endotoxin in minimal hepatic encephalopathy / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the relationship of gut flora and gut-derived endotoxin with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients with hepatitis B virus-related liver cirrhosis (HBV-LC) were screened for MHE using the number connect test-A (NCT-A) and digital symbol test (DST) and divided into the following groups: HBV-LC with (+) MHE (n = 26) and HBV-liver cirrhosis without (-) MHE (n = 25); in addition, one healthy immediate family member of each patient in the HBV-LC + MHE group was enrolled as a control. Each participant provided fecal and blood samples. PCR amplification and 454 pyrosequencing were used to detect bacterial 16S rRNA in feces. Turbidimetric Limulus amebocyte lysate assay was used to detect level of endotoxin in serum. The significance of inter-group differences was assessed by one-way ANOVA or Student's t-test.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The three groups showed different distributions of gut flora. The differences in the microbial communities' members and distributions were related to disease or health status, but not to the patient's genetic makeup or diet. In particular, the HBV-LC + MHE patients showed significantly lower amounts of different bacterial species and abundance of these species than the other two (non-MHE) groups (P less than 0.05). The healthy control family members had a richer diversity of gut flora than their counterparts with HBV-LC + MHE (P less than 0.05). The HBV-LV + MHE patients also had higher serum levels of endotoxin.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Development of minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with HBV-LC may be related to a gut flora disorder or higher levels of endotoxin in serum.</p>

Impact of pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation on the overall prevalence of neural tube defects in two counties of Shanxi province / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective To examine the impact of pregnancy termination before 28 weeks of gestation on the overall prevalence of neural tube defects (NTDs).Methods Data collected during the period of 2004 and 2010 from a birth defects surveillance system in Pingding county and Talgu county of Shanxi province were used.Number of births ≥28 weeks of gestation and number of cases with major birth defects among the births were collected.Terminations of pregnancies before 28 weeks of gestation due to prenatal diagnosis were also collected.The total prevalence of neural tube defects,prevalence before 28 weeks of gestation,and prevalenee of ≥28 weeks gestation were calculated using the total number of pregnancies of ≥28 weeks of gestation as denominator.The prevalence data were compared to examine the impact of pregnancy termination on the total prevalence.The proportions of pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation due to prenatal diagnosis of an NTD against the total number of NTD cases were also calculated.Results During 2004-2010,52 366 births were recorded,and 485 NTD cases were ascertained.The overall prevalence of NTDs was 92.6 per 10 000 births,with prevalence of ＜28 weeks gestation due to pregnancy terminations as 60.9 per 10 000 births,while the prevalence of ≥28 weeks of gestation was 31.7 per 10 000 births.NTD prevalence of ≥28 weeks gestation was 66.0％ lower than the total NTD prevalence.In the last two years,the proportion of NTDs ascertained ≥28 weeks gestation accounted for about 40.0％ of the total NTD cases.Conclusion A birth-defect-surveillance program that covered only tregnancies ≥28 weeks of gestation resulted in a severe underestimation of the total birth prevalence of NTDs,especially for anencephaly.We would recommend that the current national birth defects surveillance system should include pregnancy terminations before 28 weeks of gestation and the calculation of total NTD prevalence should also include these cases into the numerator,so as to better estimate true population NTD prevalence,upon which the related public health policy is based.

Study on the correlation between Chinese medicine syndrome types of the Uighur and Han people and levels of blood lipids and fibrinogen in premature coronary heart disease patients / 中国中西医结合杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the correlation between the Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome types of the Uighur and Han people and levels of blood lipids and fibrinogen in premature coronary heart disease (PCHD) patients.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Recruited were 196 Uighur and 189 Han patients with PCHD first confirmed by coronary angiography at the Heart Center of First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University and Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Xinjiang Medical University. Another 60 healthy volunteers were recruited as the healthy control group. CM syndromes were typed by physicians or those having higher professional titles at the cardiac internal medicine. The contents of triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were detected using oxidase method. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was detected using chemical modification enzymic method. The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level was detected using selective dissolution. The fibrinogen (FIB) level was detected using Clauss congeal principle.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The CM syndrome types of Uighurs were sequenced as filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome (82 cases, 21.3%) > qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (61 cases, 15.84%) >cold accumulation in Xin meridian syndrome (39 cases, 10.13%) >Xin-Shen yin deficiency syndrome (14 cases, 3. 63%). The CM syndrome types of the Han nationality were sequenced as qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome (69 cases, 17.92%) >filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome (67 cases, 17.40%) > cold accumulation in Xin meridian syndrome (42 cases, 10.91%) > Xin-Shen yin deficiency syndrome (11 cases, 2.86%). There was no statistical difference in the syndrome type distribution between the two groups (P >0.05). Compared with the healthy control group, the levels of TG, LDL-C, and FIB increased, and the HDL-C level decreased in patients of filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome and qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome of the patient group. The HDL-C level decreased in the Uighur patients of Xin-Shen yin deficiency syndrome, showing statistical difference (P < 0.01, P < 0.05). Compared with the Han people of the same syndrome type, the TG level increased and the HDL-C level decreased in the Uighur patients of filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome. The FIB level increased in the Uighur patients of qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome with statistical difference (P<0.05). In the Uighur patients, filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome was positively correlated with TG (r=0.469) and FIB (r=0.464), and negatively correlated with HDL-C (r=-0.382). Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome was positively correlated with FIB (r=0.72) with statistical difference (P<0.01, P<0.05). In the Han patients, filthy turbidity and phlegm obstruction syndrome was positively correlated with TG (r=0.445) and FIB (r=0.372), and negatively correlated with HDL-C (r=-0.37). Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome was positively correlated with TG (r=0.471) and FIB (r=0.459) with statistical difference (P<0.01, P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>CM syndrome types were correlated with TG, HDL-C, and FIB in PCHD Han and Uighur patients.</p>

Inactivated Sendai virus suppresses murine melanoma growth by inducing host immune responses and down-regulating β-catenin expression / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>This paper aims to investigate the anti-tumor mechanism of inactivated Sendai virus (Hemagglutinating virus of Japan envelope, HVJ-E) for murine melanoma (B16F10).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The murine dendritic cells (DCs) were treated with HVJ-E, and then the cytokines secreted from DCs and costimulation-related molecules on DCs were measured. Meanwhile, the expression of β-catenin in HVJ-E treated murine melanoma cells was detected. In addition, HVJ-E was intratumorally injected into the melanoma on C57BL/6 mice, and the immune cells, CTL response and tumor volume were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>HVJ-E injected into B16F10 melanoma obviously inhibited the growth of the tumor and prolonged the survival time of the tumor-bearing mice. Profiles of cytokines secreted by dendritic cells (DCs) after HVJ-E stimulation showed that the number of cytokines released was significantly higher than that elicited by PBS (1P<0.05). The co-stimulation-related molecules on DCs were comparable to those stimulated by LPS. Immunohistochemical examinations demonstrated the repression of β-catenin in B16F10 melanoma cells after HVJ-E treatment. Meanwhile, real-time reverse transcription PCR revealed that HVJ-E induced a remarkable infiltration of CD11c positive cells, chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) molecules, interleukin-2 (IL-2) molecule, CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells into HVJ-E injected tumors. Furthermore, the mRNA expression level of β-catenin in the HVJ-E injected tumors was also down-regulated. In addition, B16F10-specific CTLs were induced significantly after HVJ-E was injected into the tumor-bearing mice.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This is the first report to show the effective inhibition of melanoma tumors by HVJ-E alone and the mechanism through which it induces antitumor immune responses and regulates important signal pathways for melanoma invasion. Therefore, HVJ-E shows its prospect as a novel therapeutic for melanoma therapy.</p>

Prevalence of major external birth defects in high and low risk areas in China, 2003 / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the prevalence rates of birth defects in high and low risk areas in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A population-based surveillance system on birth defects was used to obtain the prevalence rates of 24 kinds of major external birth defects from > or = 20 weeks of gestation to 7 days of life in selected areas in Shanxi and Jiangsu provinces.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The birth prevalence of birth defects (232.4 per 10,000 births) and neural tube defects (NTDs) (138.7 per 10,000 births) in four counties of Shanxi province were significantly higher than that in Taiyuan city (75.3 and 28.2 per 10,000 births, respectively). There was no significant difference for all selected birth defects between Wuxi city and Xishan counties in low risk areas. There was a 6.1-fold of higher prevalence for NTDs in Taiyuan city compared with that in Wuxi areas (4.6 per 10,000 births). In four counties of Shanxi province, the prevalence rates of anencephaly, spina bifida, hydrocephaly, cleft palate alone and polydactyly were significantly higher than in Wuxi areas. The NTDs prevalence rate in four counties of Shanxi was 30.2 times higher than in Wuxi areas. When compared with previous surveillance data, the NTDs prevalence rate did not present obvious declining trend in high risk areas. The birth prevalence rate had a 31.8% decrease when births were calculated after 28 gestational weeks and compared with those from 20 gestational weeks.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>NTDs remained to be the most common birth defect seen in Shanxi province. The birth prevalence rate of NTDs in some areas of Shanxi province was among the highest that ever reported in the world in comparison with data from other countries and regions. The current prevalence rate in high risk areas in Shanxi province did not clearly show a declining trend. Programs on surveillance and prenatal diagnosis were proved to have made big impact on the rates of major external birth defects.</p>