Progress on the treatment of recurrent anterior dislocation of shoulder with bone defect / 中国骨伤

Recurrent anterior dislocation of shoulder with bone defect is one of the common diseases of shoulder joint. How to effectively repair glenoid bone defect and reduce recurrence rate of shoulder dislocation is a problem that clinicians focus on. Bone grafting could stimulate bone, promote bone regeneration and bone remodeling, and restore the normal anatomical structure of glenoid. Among them, Bristow-Latarjet procedure is a classic operation for recurrent shoulder dislocation. Latarjet procedure could repair larger glenoid bone defects, but with higher surgical skills for surgeons;autogenous iliac grafting is the first choice for revision once Latarjet procedure failed;osteochondral grafting (autogenous and allogenous) has certain advantages in reconstructing original articular surface and preventing joint degeneration, but autologous osteochondral grafting may cause secondary injury, while immune rejection is difficult to avoid for allogenous osteochondral grafting. With the improvement of composite materials, and the mechanism of bone regeneration and remodeling, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of bone grafting, tissue engineering technology may become an effective method for the treatment of glenoid bone defect in the future.

Experimental Study of Yuxuebi Tablets by Inhibiting Peripheral Inflammation to Relieve Hyperalgesia and Foot Swelling in Mice with Chronic Inflammatory Pain / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To observe the effect of Yuxuebi tablets on hyperalgesia and foot swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain， and to explore the preliminary mechanism of action. Method:A mouse model of chronic inflammatory pain was established with left plantar injection of complete Freund's adjuvant （CFA）. The mice were divided into model group， positive drug ibuprofen group （91 mg·kg^-1）， Yuxuebi tablets low， medium and high dose groups （55， 110， 220 mg·kg^-1），with the sham operation group as the control. After successful modeling， the daily dose was divided into two doses in the morning and evening by gavage to give Yuxuebi tablets or ibuprofen to the stomach for a total of 19 days. On the 18^th day after the administration， the thermal pain threshold was detected by the hot plate method. On the 19^th day， the standard Von Frey fiber needle was used to detect the mechanical pain threshold of the mice， and the degree of foot swelling was scored and photographed. The liquid-phase suspension chip technology was used to quantitatively analyze 36 classic broad-spectrum inflammation-related factors like inflammatory factors and receptors. Bioinformatics were used to screen core targets and perform enzymelinked immunosorbent assay （ELISA） detection. Result:Compared with the sham operation group， the mechanical pain threshold and foot swelling score of the model froup significantly increased （<italic>P</italic><0.01）， the latent time of heat sensitivity significantly decreased（<italic>P</italic><0.01）， the expressions of 30 inflammatory factors in the foot increased（<italic>P</italic><0.05）. Compared with the model group， the high dose of Yuxuebi tablets significantly reduced the mechanical pain threshold and foot swelling score of mice with chronic inflammatory pain（<italic>P</italic><0.01）， significantly increased the latent time of heat sensitivity（<italic>P</italic><0.05）， and reduced the expressions of 30 inflammatory factors in the foot（<italic>P</italic><0.05）， among which tumor necrosis factor-<italic>α</italic> （TNF-<italic>α</italic>）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-17A （IL-17A）， and C-C chemokine ligand 2 （CCL2） were the core targets screened out， and the expressions of TNF-<italic>α</italic>， IL-17A， and CCL2 significantly decreased （<italic>P</italic><0.01）. Conclusion:Yuxuebi tablets can relieve hyperalgesia and foot swelling in mice with chronic inflammatory pain， and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of the expressions of peripheral inflammatory factors such as TNF-<italic>α</italic>， IL-17A， and CCL2 .

Follow-up study on autogenous osteochondral transplantation for cartilage defect of knee joint / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate clinical effect of autologous osteochondral transplantation in treating localized knee cartilage defects.@*METHODS@#Fifteen patients with knee cartilage defects were treated by autologous osteochondral transplantation from January 2007 to January 2008, including 8 females and 7 males, aged from 23 to 45 years old. Preoperative and postoperative KSS score at 10 years were compared.@*RESULTS@#All patients were followed up for 10.0 to 10.7 years, with an average of(10.2±0.3) years. Clinical score of KSS was improved from 38.86±4.09 to 85.07±2.19 at 10 years after operation(0.05). All patients had no other complications.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Through long-term follow-up of patients with cartilage defect in knee treated by autologous bone cartilage transplantation showed that this method could effectively improve function of knee joint and alleviate pain. So it is an effective method for repair of osteochondral defect.

Characteristic dysbiosis of gut microbiota of Chinese patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome by an insight into the pan-microbiome / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is reported associated with the alteration of gut microbial composition termed as dysbiosis. However, the pathogenic mechanism of IBS remains unclear, while the studies of Chinese individuals are scarce. This study aimed to understand the concept of dysbiosis among patients with Chinese diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D), as a degree of variance between the gut microbiomes of IBS-D population and that of a healthy population.@*METHODS@#The patients with IBS-D were recruited (assessed according to the Rome III criteria, by IBS symptom severity score) from the Outpatient Department of Gastroenterology of Peking University Third Hospital, and volunteers as healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled, during 2013. The 16S rRNA sequences were extracted from fecal samples. Ribosomal database project resources, basic local alignment search tool, and SparCC software were used to obtain the phylotype composition of samples and the internal interactions of the microbial community. Herein, the non-parametric test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test was carried out to find the statistical significance between HC and IBS-D groups. All the P values were adjusted to q values to decrease the error rate.@*RESULTS@#The study characterized the gut microbiomes of Chinese patients with IBS-D, and demonstrated that the dysbiosis could be characterized as directed alteration of the microbiome composition leading to greater disparity between relative abundance of two phyla, Bacteroidetes (Z = 4.77, q = 1.59 × 10) and Firmicutes (Z = -3.87, q = 5.83 × 10). Moreover, it indicated that the IBS symptom features were associated with the dysbiosis of whole gut microbiome, instead of one or several certain genera even they were dominating. Two genera, Bacteroides and Lachnospiracea incertae sedis, were identified as the core genera, meanwhile, the non-core genera contribute to a larger pan-microbiome of the gut microbiome. Furthermore, the dysbiosis in patients with IBS-D was associated with a reduction of network complexity of the interacted microbial community (HC vs. IBS-D: 639 vs. 154). The disordered metabolic functions of patients with IBS-D were identified as the potential influence of gut microbiome on the host (significant difference with q < 0.01 between HC and IBS-D).@*CONCLUSIONS@#This study supported the view of the potential influence of gut microbiome on the symptom of Chinese patients with IBS-D, and further characterized dysbiosis in Chinese patients with IBS-D, thus provided more pathological evidences for IBS-D with the further understanding of dysbiosis.

Relationship between Gut Microbiota and Phosphorus Metabolism in Hemodialysis Patients: A Preliminary Exploration / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Hyperphosphatemia is a risk factor associated with mortality in patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Gut absorption of phosphate is the major source. Recent studies indicated that the intestinal flora of uremic patients changed a lot compared with the healthy population, and phosphorus is an essential element of bacterial survival and reproduction. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of intestinal microbiota in phosphorus metabolism.@*Methods@#A prospective self-control study was performed from October 2015 to January 2016. Microbial DNA was isolated from the stools of 20 healthy controls and 21 maintenance hemodialysis patients. Fourteen out of the 21 patients were treated with lanthanum carbonate for 12 weeks. Thus, stools were also collected before and after the treatment. The bacterial composition was analyzed based on 16S ribosomal RNA pyrosequencing. Bioinformatics tools, including sequence alignment, abundance profiling, and taxonomic diversity, were used in microbiome data analyses. Correlations between genera and the serum phosphorus were detected with Pearson's correlation. For visualization of the internal interactions and further measurement of the microbial community, SparCC was used to calculate the Spearman correlation coefficient with the corresponding P value between each two genera.@*Results@#Thirteen genera closely correlated with serum phosphorus and the correlation coefficient was above 0.4 (P < 0.05). We also found that 58 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were significantly different and more decreased OTUs were identified and seven genera (P < 0.05) were obviously reduced after using the phosphate binder. Meanwhile, the microbial richness and diversity presented downward trend in hemodialysis patients compared with healthy controls and more downward trend after phosphorus reduction. The co-occurrence network of genera revealed that the network complexity of hemodialysis patients was significantly higher than that of controls, whereas treatment with lanthanum carbonate reduced the network complexity.@*Conclusions@#Gut flora related to phosphorus metabolism in hemodialysis patients, and improving intestinal microbiota may regulate the absorption of phosphate in the intestine. The use of phosphate binder lanthanum carbonate leads to a tendency of decreasing microbial diversity and lower network complexity.

Study on the molecular mechanism of osteoporosis treated by Epimedium based on network pharmacology / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the potential molecular basis of Epimedium and to clarify the molecular mechanism of Epimedium in the treatment of osteoporosis.Methods The method of network pharmacology was used to determine and screen the known compounds corresponding to Epimedium,and predict the drug-related gene/protein targets,and combined with bioinformatics,the specific target of osteoporosis prevention and treatment of Epimedium was determined,and then the signal pathway enrichment was analysed,the molecular mechanism of Epimedium in treatment of osteoporosis was further explored.Results A total of 130 corresponding compounds were retrieved in the TCMID database from Epimedium.According to the values of OB and DL,23 blood transfusion components were screened,in which 101 targets were obtained using the related target prediction technique.Through the secondary mining of the gene chip of GEO chip database,we obtained a total of 124 significantly different genes.And a total of 355 known target genes closely related to the development of osteoporosis were retrieved in the disease-related database.Using the cytoscape to construct and synthesize the protein-protein interaction network of active ingredients and diseases,221 key genes were screened out by network topological analysis.Using ClueGO analysis,it was shown that Epimedium was directly engaged in the signal pathways involved in the key nodes of osteoporosis,which were mainly related to the direct regulation of bone metabolism,such as Wnt signaling pathway,TGF-β signaling pathway and Notch signaling pathway,and that Epimedium regulated other signal pathways,such as PI3K-Akt signaling pathway,VEGF signaling pathway and thyroid hormone signaling pathway.Conclusions Epimedium has the characteristics of multiple targets and multicomponent in the treatment of osteoporosis,which could not only be directly involved in bone cell differentiation and regulation of the balance of osteogenesis and osteoclasts,but also affect and interfere with the bone microenvironment through other systemic systems,such as circulatory system,nervous system,which is consistent with the current mechanism of treatment of osteoporosis.

Extrinsic harmful residues in Chinese herbal medicines: types, detection, and safety evaluation / 中草药·英文版

Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) are playing important roles in the treatment of diseases and human health care throughout the world. However, the extrinsic harmful residues have been threatening the therapies by destroying CHMs qualtiy which hinders the international trades of CHMs. This review summarized the extrinsic harmful residues contaminating CHMs in types, detection methods, national and international regulations, and made safety evaluations according to their contaminated levels, aiming to establish understanding among nations or organizations and provide references for the formulation or amendment of relative regulations.

Efficacy of sleep position correction for treating infants with positional plagiocephaly / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the efficacy of 2-month course of sleeping position correction in the treatment of positional plagiocephaly in infants aged <8 months.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 73 infants with positional plagiocephaly between January 2015 and June 2016 were divided into treatment group (n=46) and control group (n=27) according to parents' wishes. The treatment group received sleeping position correction, while the control group received sleep curve mattress. The oblique diameters A and B in the two groups were measured and the cranial vault asymmetry (CVA) was calculated before and after treatment. The severity of positional plagiocephaly based on CVA was compared between the two groups before and after treatment. The Gesell Developmental Scale was used to determine the developmental quotients (DQs) in the motor, adaptive, language, and social domains in the two groups before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before treatment, there were no significant differences in oblique diameters A and B, CVA, and DQs in the four specific domains between the two groups (P>0.05). After 2 months of treatment, the treatment group had a significantly greater oblique diameter B and a significantly smaller CVA than the control group (P<0.05); there were no significant differences in DQs in the four specific domains between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, both groups had significant improvements in oblique diameters A and B, CVA, and DQs in the motor and adaptive domains (P<0.01); moreover, the treatment group showed a significant improvement in the DQs in the social domain (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in the severity of positional plagiocephaly between the two groups before and after treatment (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>For infants with positional plagiocephaly, sleeping position correction has better efficacy and is more convenient and economical than the sleep curve mattress, so it holds promise for clinical application.</p>

Establishment and application of Chinese Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory norms in Chongqing, China / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish the Chinese Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) norms in Chongqing, China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>PEDI (English version) was translated into Chinese and proof read by back-translation. A total of 1 140 children stratified by age were randomly selected from Chongqing and evaluated by the Chinese version of the PEDI. The obtained data were statistically analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Of 1 140 questionnaires, 1 075 (94.3%) were valid. The data showed that the raw and scale scores of PEDI increased with age, but the standard scores did not increase with age. The raw, scale, and standard scores on self-care and social function scales were significantly lower than American PEDI norms in some age periods (P<0.05), but the raw, scale, and standard scores on mobility scale were not significantly different from American norms (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The PEDI norms in Chongqing have been successfully established, and can be used to assess the daily function in children, judge the degree of daily function impairment, evaluate the effect of rehabilitation training, and make the rehabilitation plan for disabled children.</p>

Development and in vitro evaluation of a transdermal hydrogel patch for ferulic acid

Current work aimed to develop and evaluate a transdermal delivery system of hydrogel patch for ferulic acid to treat skin damage induced by UV radiation. VISCOMATE[TM] NP700, dihydroxy aluminium aminoacetate, glycerine, tartaric acid were used in combination in different ratios to design the hydrogel patch. In vitro release rate was selected as an index to optimize the formulation. The formulated hydrogel patch was evaluated by several parameters like tacking strength, cohesive strength, peeling strength, residuals after peeling and drug content determination. The in vitro penetration was determined by Franz diffusion technology with hairless mouse skin as permeability media. Different kinetics models were employed to simulate the release and penetrate patterns of ferulic acid from patches in order to investigate the drug transport mechanism. The residual drugs in the patch and skin were determined after the penetration experiment. The optimized preparation was dihydroxy aluminium aminoacetate: NP700: glycerine: ferulic acid as a ratio of 0.02:0.4:1.5:1.25:0.25. The cumulative percentage of release was 60.4465 +/- 1.7679% for 24h, which results from a combination of diffusion effect and polymer erosion effect. For the barrier of stratum corneum, the cumulative penetrate rate was only 1.3156 +/- 0.3588% and the release mechanism turn out to be the effect of erosion of polymer surface. The residual drugs in the patch were 97.5949 +/- 1.4932%. The in vitro data revealed that it was easy for ferulic acid to release from the paste while difficult to permeate through the skin barrier, which resulted in most of drugs residued in the paste. Hence, further experiments will be necessary for finding the penetration enhancer in ferulic acid transdermal delivery

Pharmacokinetics of ferulic acid in transdermal delivery / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the pharmacokinetics of ferulic acid in transdermal delivery; the influence factors such as temperature, flow rate, and drug concentration on the probe recovery are also investigated to obtain accurate data.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The stability of in vitro and in vivo recovery was determined by loss but the influence factor on the recovery was determined by gain. Appling dermal microdialysis to ferulic acid analytes, the concentration of ferulic acid in the dialysate was detected by HPLC.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>There is a significant effect on the probe recovery for the in vitro recovery is much bigger at a higher temperature. When the flow rate rises, the in vitro recovery is down at index rate instead. Within the measuring rage, the drug concentration doesn't have effect on the recovery. The steady and reproduce of recovery is well within the measuring time, and the average recovery of in vitro is (24.82 +/- 1.01)% without temperature control and in vivo is (16.50 +/- 1.92)%. The C(max) of ferulic acid is 86 min and MRT is 291 min after dermal administration.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Dermal microdialyis can be used in the ferulic acid study. For the ferulic acid can permeate the corneum quciky, it is practical to develop a transdermal delivery.</p>

Study on in vitro penetration of imperatorin / 中国中药杂志

The object of this paper was to study the in vitro percutaneous factors that affect permeability of imperatorin. Excised abdominal skin of SD rats was used as the permeation model. Modified Franz diffusion cell was used to evaluate receiving solution, skin treatment and drug concentration on the effect of permeation. HPLC was established to determine drug content in recetpor at specified time points. The result showed that 20% ethanol and 0.5% Tween-80 could significantly increase the steady-state infiltration rate (Jass) of imperatorin. Skin treated of 20% ethanol, 20% ethanol-1% Tween-80 before experiments got an increased transdermal rate, whereas, those only accepted the treatment of 1% Tween-80 showed a decreased transdermal rate. The steady-state infiltration rate of imperatorin had a relationship with drug concentration, with the concentration increase, a bigger steady-state infiltration rate was obtained. When the drug concentration reached a certain concentration, the value was no longer changed. From the above research it could be found that ethanol could change the structure of the skin stratum corneum, which resulted in the increase of steady-state infiltration rate. The effect of Tween-80 on the steady-state permeation rate had nothing to do with skin structure. The concentration of drug in the diffusing cell had an effect on the penetration of imperatorin, which was the combined action of different diffusion route.

Study on transdermal behavior of Zhitong cataplasm / 中国中药杂志

The aim of the present research was to study the transdermal absorbability of ferulic acid and imperatorin in Zhitong cataplasm. Using methanol to extract the effective components, HPLC was established to determine drug content in Zhitong cataplasm. The excised abdominal skin of nude rats was used as the permeation model Utilizing the modified Franz diffusion cell, the suitable receiving solution was elected. The contents of ferulic acid and imperatorin in Zhitong cataplasm were 455.10, 371.66 microg x g(-1), respectively. Taken 20% ethanol- PBS (pH 8) as receiving solution, ferulic acid and imperatorin could be detected maximize, with the steady-state infiltration rates of 1.29, 0.15 microg x h(-1) x cm(-2), respectively. After 24 h, their penetration quantities were 30.03, 3.31 microg x cm(-2), with the penetration rates of 41.45%, 5.60%, respectively. The residual quantities of ferulic acid and imperatorin in skin were 0.69, 2.60 microg x cm(-2), with the retention rates of 0.95%, 4.40%, respectively. The in vitro transdermal behavior of ferulic acid in Zhitong cataplasm was close to a zero-order process, with the stratum corneum playing a rate-limiting role; whereas the percutaneous behavior of imperatorin was closer to Higuchi model, where diffusion played an important role in drugs permeation.

Study on in vitro/in vivo correlation of extracts from Ligusticum chuanxiong after transdermal administration / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the transdermal permeation and in vivo pharmacokinetics of effective constituent ferulic acid from Ligusticum chuanxiong, in order to establish the in vitro/in vivo correlation in transdermal permeation.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Franz diffusion cell was adopted in the in vitro transdermal permeation, with CD-1 nude rat abdominal skin as the permeation medium. Linear probes were implanted in CD-1 nude rats. With PBS as perfusate, microdialysis was employed to study the pharmacokinetics. Ferulic acid concentrations in the receptor solution and dialysate were assessed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The study on correlation between in vitro and in vivo data was conducted by deconvolution methods.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The transdermal permeation rate of ferulic acid from Ligusticum chuanxiong was (0.094 4 +/- 0.049 4) microg x cm2 x min, with Cmax of ferulic acid being 808.91 microg x L(-1), and Tmax being 183 min after dermal administration. The in vitro/in vivo correlation was 93.61.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Ferulic acid in extracts from L. chuanxiong can quickly penetrate skins. By using the in vitro/in vivo correlation in transdermal permeation, simple in vitro transdermal permeation method can be adopted to study the changes in its pharmacokinetics.</p>

Asymmetric synthesis of aromatic L-amino acids catalyzed by transaminase / 生物工程学报

Aromatic L-Amino acids are important chiral building blocks for the synthesis of many drugs, pesticides, fine chemicals and food additives. Due to the high activity and steroselectivity, enzymatic synthesis of chiral building blocks has become the main research direction in asymmetric synthesis field. Guided by the phylogenetic analysis of transaminases from different sources, two representative aromatic transaminases TyrB and Aro8 in type I subfamily, from the prokaryote Escherichia coli and eukaryote Saccharomyces cerevisia, respectively, were applied for the comparative study of asymmetric transamination reaction process and catalytic efficiency of reversely converting keto acids to the corresponding aromatic L-amino acid. Both TyrB and Aro8 could efficiently synthesize the natural aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine as well as non-natural amino acid phenylglycine. The chiral HPLC analysis showed the produced amino acids were L-configuration and the e.e value was 100%. L-alanine was the optimal amino donor, and the transaminase TyrB and Aro8 could not use D-amino acids as amino donor. The optimal molar ratio of amino donor (L-alanine) and amino acceptor (aromatic alpha-keto acids) was 4:1. Both of the substituted group on the aromatic ring and the length of fatty acid carbon chain part in the molecular structure of aromatic substrate alpha-keto acid have the significant impact on the enzyme-catalyzed transamination efficiency. In the experiments of preparative-scale transamination synthesis of L-phenylglycine, L-phenylalanine and L-tyrosine, the specific production rate catalyzed by TryB were 0.28 g/(g x h), 0.31 g/(g x h) and 0.60 g/(g x h) and the specific production rate catalyzed by Aro8 were 0.61 g/(g x h), 0.48 g/(g x h) and 0.59 g/(g x h). The results obtained here were useful for applying the transaminases to asymmetric synthesis of L-amino acids by reversing the reaction balance in industry.

Wolman disease with novel mutation of LIPA gene in a Chinese infant / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the clinical characteristics of Wolman disease and diagnostic methods using enzymatic and molecular analysis.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Lysosomal acid lipase activity was measured using 4-methylumbelliferyl oleate in the leukocytes of an infant suspected of Wolman disease and LIPA gene mutational analysis was performed by PCR and direct sequencing in the proband and his parents. After the diagnosis was confirmed, the clinical, biochemical, radiological and histopathological findings in this case of Wolman disease were retrospectively reviewed.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The sixteen-day-old boy was failing to thrive with progressive vomiting, abdominal distention and hepatosplenomegaly. Abdominal X-ray revealed adrenal calcifications which were confirmed on abdominal CT scan. Xanthomatosis were observed on enlarged liver, spleen and lymph nodes during abdominal surgery. Liver and lymph node biopsy showed foamy histiocytes. The lysosomal acid lipase activity in leukocytes was 3.5 nmol/(mg·h) [control 35.5 - 105.8 nmol/(mg·h)]. Serum chitotriosidase activity was 315.8 nmol/(ml·h) [control 0 - 53 nmol/(ml·h)]. The patient was homozygote for a novel insert mutation allele c.318 ins T, p. Phe106fsX4 in exon 4 on LIPA gene. His both parents were carriers of the mutation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The clinical features of Wolman disease include early onset of vomiting, abdominal distention, growth failure, hepatosplenomegaly and bilateral adrenal calcification after birth. A plain abdominal X-ray film should be taken to check for the typical pattern of adrenal calcification in suspected cases of Wolman disease. The enzymatic and molecular analyses of lysosomal acid lipase can confirm the diagnosis of Wolman disease.</p>

Mutation analysis of pathogenic genes in a Henan family affected with congenital stationary night blindness / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect genetic mutations associated with autosomal dominant congenital stationary night blindness (ADCSNB) in a family from Henan province.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples of 14 family members. Based on 3 genes reported previously, PCR primers were designed and corresponding exons containing the mutation sites were amplified with PCR. PCR products were purified and directly sequenced.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A c.281C>T heterozygous missense mutation was detected in RHO gene in all of the patients. This mutation can cause a change of the protein structure (p.Thr94Ile). The same mutation was not detected in normal individuals from the family and 50 normal controls.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>A c.281C>T mutation in RHO gene is responsible for the onset of ADCSNB in this Chinese family and results in symptoms of night blindness.</p>

The mutation spectrum of phenylalanine hydroxylase gene in patients with phenylketonuria in Henan province / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the characteristics of the phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene mutations in patients with phenylketonuria (PKU) in Henan province, China, in order for providing basic information for clinical genetic counseling and prenatal diagnosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>All the exons and partial flanking introns of the PAH gene were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and bi-directional sequencing in 34 patients with PKU from Henan province.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of 23 different disease-causing mutations were identified which corresponded to 92.65% (63/68) of the PAH alleles, including 12 missense mutations, 4 nonsense mutations, 4 splicing junction mutations, and 3 deletion mutations. Among them, A156P and P69_S70delinsP(delCTT) were novel mutations; IVS2+ 5G to C, G332E, IVS10-14C to G and L367 to Wfs were reported in Chinese population for the first time according to the PAH database (www.pahdb.mcgill.ca). Among all the 13 exons, exon 7 harbored the most type of mutations, exon 11 and exon 5 the second. The most common mutations included R243Q (17.65%, 12/68), V399V (11.76%, 8/68), IVS4-1G to A (8.82%, 6/68), R400T(7.35%, 5/68), Y166X(5.88%,4/68) and G247R(5.88%, 4/68). In addition, 9 other gene variations were found in this study.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The mutation spectrum and frequency of the PAH gene of patients with phenylketonuria in Henan province were slightly different from those from other parts of China.</p>

Serum levels of homocysteine and folate in neonates with asphyxia / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To determine whether serum homocysteine and folate levels are correlated with the occurrence of neonatal asphyxia and to study the effects of gender and gestational age on serum homocysteine and folate levels.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty-five neonates with mild asphyxia (19 males and 16 females) and 40 normal neonates (control group,18 males and 22 females) were enrolled in this study. The asphyxia and the control groups consisted of 10 and 11 cases of preterm infants respectively. Serum homocysteine levels were measured using ELASA. Serum folate levels were measured using radioimmunity assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum homocysteine level (14.66+/-2.61 micromol/L vs 7.55+/-0.50 mumol/L; P<0.05) was significantly higher and serum folate level (2.47+/-0.24 ng/mL vs 3.28+/-0.28 ng/mL; P<0.05) was significantly lower in the asphyxia group than that in the control group. There were no significant differences in serum levels of homocysteine and folate between males and females either in the asphyxia group or the control group. The asphyxiated neonates born at premature showed increased serum homocysteine level compared with the full-term neonates with asphyxia (21.25+/-5.01 micromol/L vs 12.34+/-2. 01 micromol/L; P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The increased serum homocysteine level and decreased serum folate level are correlated with the occurrence of neonatal asphyxia. Serum homocysteine and folate levels are not associated with the gender. A more significantly increased serum homocysteine level may be found in asphyxiated neonates born at premature.</p>

Pathogenicity of Trichosporon asahii in a murine model of disseminated trichosporonosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>In recent years, superficial and deep mycoses caused by trichosporon were occasionally reported. In 2001, we reported the first case of disseminated trichosporonosis caused by Trichosporon asahii (T. asahii) in China. In this study, the pathogenicity of T. asahii was investigated in a murine model of disseminated trichosporonosis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Seventy-five mice were randomly divided into 7 groups. Each group was inoculated with T. asahii, through intradermal, gastrointestinal tract or intravenous injection. The mice in the experimental groups were given an intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CY) to induce granulocytopenia. Mice in the therapeutic group were given both liposomal amphotericin B and fluconazole. The main viscera of the mice were examined by means of tissue culture and pathologic sections.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the two intravenous inoculation groups, T. asahii was isolated from at least one organ in 10 of the 12 granulocytopenic mice and 2 of the 14 immunocompetent mice. Two of the 7 mice in the granulocytopenia group presented with lesions in the inoculation position, but none of the 30 mice in the granulocytopenia and the control group which were inoculated intradermally or through the gastrointestinal tract had viscera infection. In the therapeutic group, the ratio of consequently dead mice, the number of involved viscera, and the incidence of systemic infection were significantly less than the untreated group. Acute purulent inflammation and granulomatous inflammation were the main pathological changes in the course of the infection. Arthrospores and filaments were found in the focus.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>T. asahii is an opportunistic pathogen that causes cutaneous and visceral infections in immunologically impaired hosts. An immunocompetent host was to be infected by the invading T. asahii. Several organs, namely the liver, lungs, kidneys, spleen and heart, were predisposed. The therapy of combining liposomal amphotericin B with fluconazole can prevent the host from an infection and inhibit the diffusion of the infection.</p>