ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the clinical value of color Doppler ultrasonography in the diagnosis of uterine carcinosarcoma (UCS).Methods The clinical data and ultrasonographic manifestations of 63 cases of UCS proved by operation and pathology in Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University from January 2003 to December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed.The clinical features and characteristics of ultrasound images in UCS were summarized and classified according to their ultrasonographic features.Results It mostly occurred in postmenopausal women (77.8％).The average age of the 63 patients of UCS was (57.7 ± 11.5) years old.The most common symptoms of UCS were postmenopauseal vaginal bleeding (57.1％),menstrual disorders (20.6％),vaginal discharge (11.1％),uterine mass or thickened endometrium (11.1％).Tumor marker CA125 was evaluated in 36 women and found to be elevated in 15 women (41.7％),60％ of which (9/15) was less than 200 U/mL.Six cases (16.7％) of relative higher level of serum CA125 (＞ 200 U/mL) were at advanced stage or with malignant ovarian tumors.The sonographic findings of UCS had three types:Uterine cavity type (71.4％),endometrium type (14.3％),and myometrium type (14.3％).The ultrasonographic characteristics of uterine cavity type and myometrium type were fuzzy boundary,irregular shape,and internal uneven echo.Color doppler flow image showed rich blood signals and low resistance index (0.55 + 0.11) of the surrounding and internal artery of the lesions.The large volume of lesion was the characteristic of myometrium type.Conclusions UCS is a very aggressive and extremely rare tumor with the symptoms of postmenopauseal vaginal bleeding,menstrual disorders,vaginal discharge,et al.There are three types of sonographic findings of UCS:uterine cavity type,endometrium type and myometrium type.To strengthen the understanding of UCS and combined with clinical manifestations,the transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound was helpful to early detection,early diagnosis and making the appropriate treatment.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the effects of medicated rat serum containing Gengnianchun (GNC) decoction and its protection to pheochromocytoma cells (PC12 cells) from amyloid beta (Abeta)(25-35)-insulted apoptosis and to find the possible mechanism. Methods: Medicated rat serum was prepared by administering ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with GNC decoction. The effects of medicated rat serum on viability of PC12 cells were evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The PC12 cells were cultured with different doses of Abeta(25-35) to induce a model of Alzheimer's disease in vitro. Then, the protective effects of medicated rat serum on Abeta(25-35)-insulted PC12 cells were evaluated by using CCK-8 assay to detect the cell viability, using Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) flow cytometry to detect cell apoptosis rate and using Western blotting assay to analyze the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and active caspase-3 proteins. Results: PC12 cells cultured with 20% medicated rat serum containing GNC decoction for 24 h or 48 h had higher viability than those cultured with normal culture medium (P<0.05). After 24- or 48-hour treatment of different concentrations of Abeta(25-35), cell viabilities were all decreased as compared with normal medium (P<0.05). Cells underwent apoptosis, which showed the neurotoxicity of Abeta(25-35). The cell apoptosis induced by Abeta 25-35 was significantly decreased in PC12 cells which were pretreated with 20% medicated rat serum or nerve growth factor (NGF) according to CCK-8 assay and Annexin V-FITC/PI flow cytometry (P<0.05). The ratio of Bax expression to Bcl-2 expression and the expression of active caspase-3 were decreased in the cells treated with medicated serum or NGF as compared with the cells cultured with Abeta(25-35) only. Conclusion: The GNC-medicated rat serum at concentration of 20% can promote viability of Abeta(25-35)-insulted PC12 cells and decrease the cell apoptosis by regulating the expressions of Bcl-2, Bax and active caspase 3.