ABSTRACT
@#Objective: To observe whether an Xingnaojing 醒脑静 injection could improve the prognosis of patients, by increasing rifampicin penetration through the blood-brain barrier. Methods: Patients with severe tuberculous meningitis were enrolled in this study. The concentrations of Xingnaojing in cerebrospinal fluid and blood in patients treated with Xingnaojing and control were determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The changes in cerebrospinal fluid and the improvement of clinical symptoms and signs, were evaluated two weeks after admission. The long-term prognosis of the patients in the two groups were evaluated by the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). Results: The concentration of rifampicin in cerebrospinal fluid was significantly higher in the Xingnaojing group (1.77±0.17 μg/mL), than in the control group (1.27±0.16 μg/mL, p<0.05). The difference in concentration of rifampicin in the blood was not significant (P>0.05). The short-term effective rate of the Xingnaojing group was 92.5% (37/40), which was significantly higher than that of the control group (80%, 32/40, p<0.05). After 6 months, 75% (30/40) of the Xingnaojing group had good prognosis according to the GOS score, whereas that of the control group was 50% (20/40) showing significantly better long-term treatment effect of the Xingnaojing group compared to the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion: Xingnaojing injection improved rifampicin penetration into the central nervous system. The increase in rifampicin concentration in cerebrospinal fluid improved outcomes in patients with severe tuberculous meningitis.
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BACKGROUND:Ideal osteochondral tissue-engineered scaffolds should be able to mimic the normal structure ofhuman articular cartilage. OBJECTIVE:To prepare a layered osteochondral composite scaffold based on the anatomical and physiological functions of osteochondral articular cartilage and to observe its repair effect on osteochondral defects in rabbits. METHODS:The poly (lactide-glycolide acid)/β-tricalcium phosphate organic solution was sprayed on the surface of cartilage scaffold using rapid prototyping technology. The layered osteochondral composite scaffold was formed by the“dissolving-adhesion”process. Sixty rabbits were enrol ed, modeled into left knee articular cartilage defects, and then randomly divided into three groups. The layered osteochondral composite scaffold and cartilage scaffold were implanted into experimental and control groups, respectively. Those without any treatment served as controls. Gross and histological observations of the defect region were performed at 12 and 24 weeks after implantation. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Gross observation:At 12 weeks after implantation, the defects in the control group were obvious and not repaired at al;the 24-week defect area was decreased, covered by newly formed tissues, but with rough surface. In the experimental group, the defect surface was flat after 12 weeks of implantation, the texture was soft, and the boundary with the surrounding tissues was unclear;at 24 weeks, the defect was covered with transparent cartilaginous tissues and the surface was smooth. Histological observation:At 12 weeks after implantation, the irregular cal us appeared in the control group, but the trabeculae were not formed;in the experimental group, the thickness of the new cartilage was similar with that of the normal cartilage and there was irregular trabecular bone under the cartilage. After 24 weeks of implantation, there were new tissues in the control group, but the thickness was irregular and uneven and the trabecular structure was irregular;while the cartilage surface was smooth and repaired wel in the experimental group. In contrast, repair effect in the control group was poor as assessed by gross and histological observations. These results show that the layered composite scaffold holds a similar structure with human articular cartilage and can promote the repair of articular cartilage defects.
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Objective To explore the value of time-resolved angiography with interleaved stochastic trajectories (TWIST)in providing hemodynamic indices and morphological imaging of calf arteries in patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease(PAOD) with 3.0 T MR scanner. Methods Forty patients with confirmed or suspected PAOD underwent TWIST MRA for the calf arteries and conventional contrast-enhanced MRA(CE-MRA) for the whole lower peripheral arteries. TWIST MRA data were used to determine the bolus arriving time of the popliteal artery, the time difference of the bolus arrival in the popliteal artery between the two legs, calf artery transit time, and the mean peak enhancement time of calf arteries. The mean value of peak enhancement time of calf arteries was correlated with ankle-brachial index(ABI). The calf arteries were divided into 13 segments. The visible score of arterial segment was recorded, and the degree of arterial stenosis was graded too. In 16 patients, DSA was used as the gold standard to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of TWIST MRA and CE-MRA. Results The bolus arriving time of the popliteal artery was (0.7±7.6) s the time difference of the bolus arrival in the popliteal artery between the two legs was (2.1±2.5) s, the calf artery transit time was (35.6±16.9) s, the mean value of peak enhancement time of calf arteries was (52.6±17.6) s. ABI was acquired from 24 patients and 48 legs, which correlated well with the mean value of peak enhancement time in calf arteries (r＝0.627,P＜0.01). The mean visible score was (2.83±0.48) of TWIST MRA images and (2.78±0.43) of CE-MRA images. There was no significant difference between them (P＞0.05). On CE-MRA, there were 38 legs with varying degrees of early venous enhancement; in contrast, there was no venous contamination on TWIST MRA. The sensitivity and specificity of TWIST MRA were 96.7% (118/122) and 100.0% (72/72) in showing normal artery and mild stenosis, 94.1% (32/34) and 96.2% (154/160) in showing severe stenosis, and 94.7% (36/38) and 98.7% (154/156) in showing occlusion. The sensitivity and specificity of CE-MRA were 95.9% (117/122) and 100.0% (72/72) in showing normal artery and mild stenosis, 91.2% (31/34) and 95.6% (153/160) in showing severe stenosis, and 94.7% (36/38) and 98.1% (153/156) in showing occlusion. Conclusion TWIST MRA is a preferable choice for calf arterial occlusive disease, which provided nice morphological images and useful hemodynamic indices with simple operation.