Diagnostic performance of liver stiffness measurement for staging of liver fibrosis of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis / 解放军医学杂志

Objective: To assess the diagnostic performance of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) for liver fibrosis of patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Methods: Four hundred and seventy patients with NASH selected from January 2006 to April 2018 were enrolled in the study, and LSM was performed within 3 days before liver biopsy. Clinical parameters and the pathological features were analyzed retrospectively. Non-invasive models (APRI and FIB-4) were calculated based on their own formula. The correlations between these 3 non-invasive approaches and liver fibrosis stages were analyzed with Spearman method, the diagnostic performances were analyzed with receiver operating characteristic (ROC). Results: Of the 470 NASH patients, 346 were male (73.6%). The degree of hepatic fibrosis was detected by liver puncture. The number of patients with S0, S1, S2, S3, S4 were 73, 253, 96, 40, 8 cases respectively. The median value of LSM in each group was 5.4, 6.5, 8.6, 10.7, 22.9 kPa, respectively. Spearman analysis showed that LSM and APRI were positively correlated with the stages of liver fibrosis, and the correlation coefficients were 0.626 and 0.342(P<0.001). ROC analysis showed that the value of LSM for different fibrosis stages was significantly higher than APRI. The AUROC of hepatic fibrosis S1, S2, S3 and S4 in LSM was 0.784, 0.857, 0.953 and 0.986 respectively. The corresponding optimal diagnostic cut-off values were 5.6, 7.7, 8.8 and 12.3 kPa, respectively. Conclusion: The value of LSM is positively correlated with hepatic fibrosis stage of NASH and LSM is a useful reference index for diagnosing the stage of hepatic fibrosis in NASH.

Multiglycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii increase sperm apoptosis in male rats / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect of multiglycosides of Tripterygium wilfordii (GTW) on sperm apoptosis in male rats and its possible mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixteen male SD rats were equally assigned to two groups to receive GTW and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) intragastrically, both at 20 mg/(kg x d) for 6 weeks. Then the epididymal sperm was collected for the measurement of the apoptosis rate, sperm membrane lipid fluidity and the contents of NO, MDA and SOD by flow cytometry and spectrophotometric determination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 6 weeks of medication, the GTW group showed a significant increase in sperm apoptosis and contents of NO and MDA (P < 0.01) and a remarkable decrease in sperm membrane lipid fluidity (P < 0.05) and SOD content (P < 0.01) as compared with the CMC control group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>GTW can damage sperm membrane lipid peroxidation and sperm membrane structure, increase sperm apoptosis, and reduce sperm membrane lipid fluidity.</p>

Effects of 40H-tamoxifen on the proliferation and apoptosis of prostate stromal cells / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of 4OH-Tamoxifen (OHT) on proliferation and apoptosis of primary cultured prostate stromal cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Primarily cultured prostate stromal cells in vitro were treated with various concentrations (10(-8) mol/L - 10(-5) mol/L) of estradiol (E2), diethylstilbestrol (DES), OHT and the mixture of E2 (10(-8) mol/L - 10(-6) mol/L) with OHT (10(-7) mol/L) and then MTT and TUNEL were used to detect their proliferation and apoptosis respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) between OHT and estrogens in the effects on the apoptosis and proliferation of the primarily cultured prostate stromal cells. OHT suppressed proliferation of the prostate stromal cells at the concentrations from 10(-7) mol/L to 10(-5) mol/L (P < 0.05), and this effect was concentration related (r = -0.383, P = 0.005); OHT (10(-7) mol/L) suppressed the proliferation stimulation effect of E2 at the concentrations from 10(-8) mol/L to 10(-6) mol/L (P < 0.05). OHT induced apoptosis at the concentrations from 10(-8) mol/L to 10(-5) mol/L (P < 0.05), and this effect was concentration related (r = 0.349, P = 0.012). The apoptosis induced by OHT could not be reversed by E2 at the concentrations from 10(-8) mol/L to 10(-5) mol/L (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>OHT can obviously suppressed the proliferation and promote the apoptosis of primarily cultured prostate stromal cells, which might not be totally attributed to the competitive inhibition of the estrogen receptor.</p>

Sleeve circumcision and preputioplasty with modified incision / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the sleeve circumcision and preputioplasty with modified incision for the treatment of patients with phimosis or redundant prepuce.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five hundred and seventy-six patients with phimosis or redundant prepuce underwent operations of sleeve circumcision or preputioplasty with modified incision. The conventional incision was modified and changed into two opposite tortuous incisions.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The operation with modified incision had the following advantages: less blood loss, slight postoperative edema, no secondary bleeding or infection, quick recovery and good appearance of the penis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The sleeve circumcision and preputioplasty with modified incision is an excellent therapeutic option for phimosis and redundant prepuce.</p>