Change of serum levels of pentraxin-3 and syndecan-4 in children with chronic heart failure / 中国当代儿科杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To study the change and significance of serum pentraxin-3 (PTX-3) and syndecan-4 in children with chronic heart failure (CHF).@*METHODS@#A total of 40 children with CHF who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were enrolled as the heart failure group, and 30 children who underwent physical examination in the outpatient service during the same period of time were enrolled as the control group. The serum levels of PTX-3, syndecan-4, and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#The children with CHF had significant reductions in the serum levels of PTX-3, syndecan-4, and NT-proBNP after treatment. The levels of these markers in children with CHF were significantly higher than the control group before and after treatment (@*CONCLUSIONS@#Serum PTX-3 and syndecan-4 may be involved in the development and progression of ventricular remodeling in children with CHF and may be used as markers for the diagnosis, cardiac function grading, and treatment outcome evaluation of children with heart failure.

Clinical manifestations and gene mutation analysis of children with noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium: an analysis of 6 cases / 中国当代儿科杂志

This article summarizes and analyzes the clinical features and gene mutation characteristics of children with noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium (NVM). For the 6 children with NVM (4 boys and 2 girls), the age of onset ranged from 3 months to 12 years. Of the 6 children, 5 had arrhythmia, 3 had cardiac insufficiency, 1 had poor mental state, and 1 had chest distress and sighing. NVM-related gene mutations were detected in 4 children, among whom 2 had

Evaluation on therapeutic effect of needle warming moxibustion combined with Banxia-Xiexin decoction in diabetic gastroparesis / 国际中医中药杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of warm acupuncture combined with Banxia-Xiexin decoction on diabetic gastroparesis (DGP).Methods A total of 86 DGP patients who met the selected criteria were divided into two groups by random number table method.The control group was treated with warm acupuncture.The observation group added Banxia-Xiexin decoction on the basis of the control group.Both groups were treated for 4 weeks.The clinical efficacy of motilin (MTL),somatostatin (SS) and leptin (LP) were evaluated by ELISA.Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 97.7％ (42/43) and the control group was 88.4％ (38/43).The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (x2=9.492,P＜0.01).The post-treatment serum MTL (340.82 ± 51.32 ng/L vs.422.42 ± 64.51 ng/L,t=43.184) and LP (1.98 ± 0.24 ng/ml vs.2.78 ± 0.27 ng/ml,t=5.330) of the observation group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P＜0.01),while the serum SS (47.62 ± 7.48 ng/L vs.33.26 ± 5.09 ng/L,t=8.494) was significantly higher than that of the control group (P＜0.01).Conclusions The warm acupuncture combined with Banxia-Xiexin decoction can obviously relieve the clinical symptoms of DGP patients,reduce the level of leptin,and there is no obvious adverse reaction.

Changes in serum chromogranin A and urotensin II levels in children with chronic heart failure / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the changes in serum chromogranin A (CgA) and urotensin II (U II) levels in children with chronic heart failure (CHF) and their clinical significance.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 58 children with CHF, among whom 17 had endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) and 41 had dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), were selected as CHF group, and 20 healthy children were selected as control group. Serum levels of CgA and U II were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the level of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) was determined by bi-directional lateral flow immunoassay. Ventricular remodeling indices were measured using echocardiography. The correlation between serum CgA and U II levels and ventricular remodeling was evaluated by Pearson correlation or Spearman's rank correlation analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were no significant differences in serum CgA and NT-proBNP levels between children with grade II heart function and the control group (P>0.05). However, the serum CgA and NT-proBNP levels gradually increased as the heart function grade increased, and were significantly higher in grade III and IV children compared to those in the control group (P<0.05). U II levels were lower in children with grade II, III, or IV heart function than those in the control group (P<0.05), and significantly decreased with the aggravation of CHF (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in CgA and U II levels between patients with EFE and DCM (P>0.05). Serum CgA concentration was positively correlated with left ventricular mass index (LVMI), NT-proBNP, and cardiac function classification (r=0.279, 0.649, and 0.778 respectively; P<0.05), but was negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), and U II (r=-0.369, -0.322, and -0.718 respectively; P<0.05). Serum U II concentration was negatively correlated with NT-proBNP and cardiac function classification (r=-0.472 and -0.591 respectively; P<0.05), but was not correlated with LVMI, LVEF, and LVFS (P>0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>CgA may play a role in ventricular remodeling in children with CHF. Serum CgA and U II may serve as a reference for the diagnosis and functional classification of heart failure.</p>

Change in serum follistatin-like protein 1 and its clinical significance in children with chronic heart failure / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the change in the serum level of follistatin-like protein 1 (FSTL1) in children with chronic heart failure and its correlation with left ventricular remodeling.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 45 children with chronic heart failure (CHF) between May 2014 and May 2015 were selected as the CHF group, among whom 21 had endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) and 24 had dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM); another 30 healthy children were selected as the control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was applied to measure the serum level of FSTL1. Radioimmunoassay was applied to measure N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide, and echocardiography was applied to measure the indicators of left ventricular remodeling. The correlation between the serum level of FSTL1 and left ventricular remodeling was analyzed by Pearson correlation and Spearman′s rank correlation analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Before treatment, the CHF group had a significantly higher serum level of FSTL1 than the control group (P<0.05), which gradually increased with aggravation of CHF (P<0.05). The serum level of FSTL1 showed no significant difference between the EFE and DCM groups (P=0.176). Serum level of FSTL1 was positively correlated with left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (r=0.485, P=0.001), left ventricular mass (r=0.322, P=0.031), left ventricular mass index (r=0.353, P=0.017), and N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (r=0.562 P<0.001), and was negatively correlated with left ventricular ejection fraction (r=-0.436, P=0.003) and left ventricular minor axis decurtation rate (r=-0.436, P=0.003).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>FSTL1 might take part in the left ventricular remodeling in children with CHF, and the serum level of FSTL1 can be used as an objective index for clinical diagnosis and severity assessment of CHF in children.</p>

Progress of etiology, diagnosis and treatment of ventricular premature systole in children / 中华实用儿科临床杂志

Premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) in children are a common arrhythmia in clinical work.Assessment and treatment of PVCs have been remarkably changed in the past 10 years.By the explanation of etiology,pathogenesis,and diagnosis as well as treatment progress of PVCs,the aim of the thesis is to enrich the knowledges of clinician about the diagnosis and treatment of PVCs.

Effect of PRP on the proliferation of dermal papilla cells and hair follicle regeneration in mice / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on the proliferation of dermal papilla cells (DPCs) and hair follicle regeneration.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>PRP was prepared using the double-spin method and applied to DPCs. The proliferative effect of activated PRP on DPCs was measured using MTT assay. To understand the influence of activated PRP on the hair-inductive capacity of DPCs, freshly isolated epidermal cells and DPCs of passage 4 were resuspended, mixed with various concentrations of a PRP (0%, 5% or 10%) and were then transferred to a grafting chamber, which was implanted onto the dorsal skin of nude mice. The chambers were removed 1 week after grafting and HF formation was monitored for 4 weeks; the graft site was harvested and processed for histological examination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Activated PRP increased the proliferation benefited the aggregative growth of DPCs. There are significant difference in the yield of hair follicles compared with 10% PRP (344 +/- 27) with 0% PRP (288 +/- 35) in the area of reconstituted skin (P < 0.05). The areas treated with PRP demonstrated an increase in hair follicles density of 19.4%. Ten percent PRP (18 +/- 1) d also can significantly shorten the time of hair formation, compared with 0% PRP (20 +/- 1) d (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>There is a considerable effect of PRP on the time of hair formation and the yield of hair follicles reconstitution.</p>

Inhibition effect of 6-gingerol on hair growth / 中华整形外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of 6-gingerol, the main active component of ginger, on hair shaft elongation in vitro and hair growth in vivo.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Firstly, Hair follicles were co-cultured with 3 different concentration of 6-gingerol for 5 days and hair elongation in three groups was measured. Secondly, The proliferative effect of 6-gingerol on DPCs was measured using MTT assay. Thirdly, the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax in DPCs were measured using Western blotting. In vivo study, the influence of 6-gingerol on hair growth in C57BL/6 rats was measured through topical application of 6-gingerol on the dorsal skin of each animal.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The length of hair shaft in 20 microg/ml 6-Gingerol group (0.50 +/- 0.08 mm) is less than 0 microg/ml (0.66 +/- 0.19) mm and 10 microg/ml (0.64 +/- 0.03) mm 6-Gingerol group (P < 0.05). In cell culture, compared to 0 microg/ml and 5 microg/ml 6-Gingerol, 10 microg/ml 6-Gingerol can significantly inhibited the proliferation of DPCs (P < 0.05). Along with the growth inhibition of DPCs by 6-gingerol, the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio increased obviously. In vivo study, the hair length and density decreased a lot after using 1 mg/ml 6-gingerol.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>6-Gingerol can suppress human hair shaft elongation because it has pro-apoptotic effects on DPCs via increasing Bax/Bcl-2 ratio. It might inhibit hair growth by prolonging the telogen stage in vivo.</p>

Comparison of prognosis in children with acute viral myocarditis induced ventricular premature beats originating from different positions and the clinical value of mgocardial perfusion ECT / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the difference in prognosis for children with acute viral myocarditis induced ventricular premature beats (VPB) originating from different positions, and to study the role of 99Mtc-MIBI myocardial perfusion ECT in the prognostic evaluation of VPB.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The clinical data of 83 children with viral myocarditis induced VPB were retrospectively studied. They were divided into four groups according to the original site of VPB, as shown by the ECG: right ventricular (RV) outflow tract, RV anterior wall and apex, left ventricular (LV) outflow tract, LV anterior wall and apex. All patients were treated with anti-viral drugs and myocardial nutritional medicine. Short-term and long term outcomes in the four groups were compared. The relationship between the results of 99Mtc-MIBI myocardial perfusion ECT and prognosis in 40 patients was observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were no significant differences in short-term and long-term effective rates among the four groups (P>0.05). There were no differences in the ECT positive rates between the patients with VPB originating from RV and those with VPB originating from LV (P>0.05). The treatment effective rates of ECT-positive patients were higher than the treatment effective rates of ECT-negative ones (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The short-term and long-term prognosis of children with VPB originating from different positions are not significantly different. In children with viral myocarditis induced VPB, positive ECT results suggest a better prognosis.</p>

The roles of high-resolution computer tomography and bronchoalveolar lavage in the diagnosis of connective tissue diseases associated with interstitial lung disease / 中国综合临床

Objective To evaluate the roles of high-resolution computer tomography (HRCT) and bron- choalveolar lavage (BALF) in the diagnosis of connective tissue diseases associated with interstitial lung disease (CTD-ILD). Methods Clinical data of chest HRCT and BALF of patients with CTD-ILD from January 1997 to December 2007 in in-patient department of Peking University First Hospital, were retrospectively analyzed. Results ①Among 46 cases with the picture of chest HRCT, 19 (41.3%)showed usual interstitial pneumonia(UIP) -like pattern and 18 (39.1%) showed lobular and interlobular septa thickening. 8 (8/17) of ANCA vasculitis (AASV) and 5 (5/9) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) manifested as UIP-like patterns respectively. In polymyositis/dermatomyositis(PM/DM) and Sjogren's syndrome (KS) patients, the organizing pneumonia(OP)-like pattern and lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia(LIP)-like pattern were 2/4 and 2/4 respectively. ②Among 32 cases undergoing BAL, 10/10 patients with AASV-ILD all showed that neutrophils were dominant in BALF, while, the other 22 patients showed that the ratio of neutrophils elevation (14/22, 63.6%) and the ratio of lymphocytes elevation (18/22, 81.8%) were comparable, and there were 12/22(54.5%)patients with both types of cell elevation. Among 13 cases with iymphocytes elevation in BALF who performed analysis of sub-type lymphocytes, 10/13 cases showed decreased CD4/CD8 ratio, 3/13 cases showed increased CD4/CD8 ratio which were all related with SS. ③Among 15 patients undertaken HRCT and BALF detection together, 7/7 UIP-like cases showed the ratio of neutrephils elevation in BALK While in non-UIP-like cases, 5/8 showed the ratio of lymphocytes elevation. Conclusion ①UIP-like patterns and patterns of lobular and interlobular septa thickening are the most common imaging features of HRCT in CTD-ILD, the former are mostly seen in AASV and RA. OP-like patterns and LIP-like patterns are commonly seen in PM/DM and SS respectively. ②Tbe increased neutrophil percentage is dominant in BAL fluid of patients with AASV-ILD, while the others show that the ratio of neutrophil and lymphocyte elevation are comparable, lymphocytes subtype analysis shows decreased CD4/CD8 ratio is dominant in CTD-ILD patients with lymphocytes increased. There is a significant relationship between increased CD4/CD8 ratio and SS-LIP. ③All of the cases with UIP-like patterns show the ratio of neutrophils elevation in BALF. While the ratio of lymphocytes elevation is dominant in non-UIP-like cases.

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and the effects of carvedilol on BNP levels in juvenile rats with right heart failure / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine serum B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and BNP expression of protein and mRNA in the right ventricular myocardium in juvenile rats with right heart failure (RHF) and the effects of beta-adrenergic receptor blocker carvedilol on serum and myocardial BNP levels in order to investigate the role of BNP in the diagnosis and treatment of RHF.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-one four-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to 5 groups: RHF 1, RHF 2, carvedilol-treated RHF, control 1 and control 2. RHF was developed 4 weeks after an intraperitoneal injection of monocrotaline in the RHF 1, RHF 2 and carvedilol-treated RHF groups. The rats in the RHF 1 and the control 1 groups were sacrificed after the RHF event for observing pathological changes in the myocardium. After the RHF event, the carvedilol-treated group was given intragastric administration of carvedilol (3.5 mg/kg/d) for 2 weeks. The RHF 2 and the control 2 groups were given distilled water of equal dose instead. The rats were sacrificed 2 weeks after carvedilol or distilled water administration. Serum BNP levels were measured using ELISA. BNP protein and mRNA expression in the right ventricular myocardium were measured by immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR, respectively. Haemodynamics and some physiological indexes were measured.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum BNP levels and BNP protein and mRNA expression in the right ventricular myocardium were significantly higher in the RHF 1 group than those in the control 1 group (p<0.01). Serum BNP levels and BNP protein and mRNA expression in the right ventricular myocardium increased more significantly in the RHF 2 group. There was a positive correlation between serum BNP levels and myocardial BNP protein expression in the RHF group (r=0.698, p<0.01). Serum BNP levels and BNP protein and mRNA expression in the carvedilol-treated RHF group were significantly reduced when compared with the RHF 2 group (p<0.05). Carvedilol treatment also resulted in improved hemodynamics and relieved right ventricular hypertrophy.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>BNP may serve an index for the diagnosis of RHF and the evaluation of severity in children with RHF. Carvedilol shows protections against RHF caused by pressure load.</p>

Levels of serum brain natriuretic peptide in children with congestive heart failure or with severe pneumonia / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Some research has shown that B-type brain natriuretic peptide (BNF) is helpful in differentiating cardiac from pulmonary etiologies of dyspnea in adults. This study was designed to investigate whether BNP concentration could be similarly applied in children presenting with dyspnea.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Blood samples were collected from 65 children presenting with dyspnea, due to congestive heart failure (CHF, n=24), pneumonia (n=23) or pneumonia together with CHF (n=18). The samples from 15 healthy children were used as the controls. There were no significant differences in age among the four groups. Serum BNP levels were measured using ELISA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum BNP levels in the CHF group (141.55 +/- 75.99 pg/mL) were significantly higher than those in the Pneumonia group (26.00 +/- 14.57 pg/mL; P < 0.01), and the Pneumonia together with CHF group (113.73 +/- 87.05 pg/mL; P < 0.05), as well as the Control group (19.31 +/- 10.30 pg/mL; P < 0.01). The patients with pneumonia together with CHF had significantly higher serum BNP levels than those of the Pneumonia and the Control groups (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences in BNP levels between the Pneumonia and the Control groups. The area under the receive operator characteristic (ROC) curve, which demonstrated the diagnostic utility of BNP in differentiating CHF from pneumonia, was 0.978 (P < 0.01). At a cut-off of 49 pg/mL, BNP had a sensitivity of 87.5% and a specificity of 95.8% for differentiating CHF from pneumonia. In the 18 patients who were diagnosed with pneumonia together with CHF, 11 had BNP levels above 49 pg/mL. The mean levels of BNP of the 11 patients were significantly higher than those of the patients with pneumonia (172.08 +/- 56.47 pg/mL vs 25.00 +/- 14.57 pg/mL; P < 0.01) but were significantly decreased after treatment (26.12 +/- 15.71 pg/mL; P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>BNP level is of value in differentiating cardiac from pulmonary causes of dyspnea in children. BNP level is also helpful in assessing whether or not severe pneumonia couples with heart failure in children.</p>

Changes of Interleukin-18 and Lymphocyte CD_(54) in Children with Congestive Heart Failure / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To discover the role of interleukin-18(IL-18) and CD_(54) in congestive heart failure(CHF),and evaluate the diagnostic value of IL-18 and CD_(54) in CHF.Methods Blood samples were collected from 52 children with CHF,included 18 cases in classⅡ,17 cases in class Ⅲand 17 cases in class Ⅳ.Fifteen healthy children were normal control group.The levels of IL-18 was(detec-)ted by ELISA method and the expression of CD_(54) was examined by flow cytometry.Results The levels of IL-18 and CD_(54) in CHF were significantly higher than those of control subjects(P0.05),but the levels were respectively significantly higher than that of control subjects(P

Changes of Adrenodullin and C-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Children with Chronic Heart Failure / 实用儿科临床杂志

Objective To investigate the changes of plasma adrenodullin(ADM) and C-type natriuretic peptide(CNP) level in children with chronic heart failure(CHF) and its clinical implications.Methods Forty-two children with CHF were collected.The patients suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy,congenital heart defects,and other heart diseases.According to a modified scoring system described by Ross and Reithman,16 patients were classified as class Ⅱ,14 as class Ⅲ,and 12 as class Ⅳ.Plasma levels of ADM and CNP were measured by radioimmunoassay assay in these patients and 11 healthy children.Echocardiography was performed to measure left ventricular function and the ratio of E/A.Results Plasma ADM and CNP levels of CHF patients were significantly elevated as compared with those of the control subjects [(218.27?106.53) ng/L vs(74.39?53.99) ng/L,P=0;(190.27?108.38) ng/L vs(92.59?(59.46) ng/L),P0.05).ADM levels were elevated with the advancing severity of CHF determined by a modified scoring system described by Ross.However,the plasma CNP levels in the normal state wasn′t significantly different from those observed in class Ⅱ.Likewise,the plasma CNP level in the class Ⅲ was not significantly different from that observed in class Ⅱ.Conclusions ADM and CNP might play a compensatory and defensive roles in the pathophysiology of the pediatric CHF.ADM may be a biochemical marker for evaluation the severity of the chronic heart failure in children,but also a new prognostic indicator of this syndrome.