Quantitative grading evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of asymmetric bilateral lateral rectus recession in type Ⅲ Duane retraction syndrome / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

AIM: To quantitatively evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the asymmetric recession of bilateral lateral rectus in patients with unilateral type III Duane retraction syndrome.METHOD:Retrospective analysis of clinical data. The clinical data of 12 cases of type III Duane retraction syndrome with unilateral lateral rectus recession were analyzed. All subjects had restricted internal rotation, with narrowing of the palpebral fissure and vertical deviation, and restricted external rotation with widening of the palpebral fissure. All patients had abnormal head positions. The degree of strabismus was measured while maintaining the head in a neutral position. Asymmetric recession of bilateral lateral rectus was selected based on the degree of strabismus of affected eye or 1～3mm longer, with a smaller recession and Y-splitting in the affected eye and a larger recession in the healthy eye.RESULT:The difference in the degree of strabismus in the healthy eyes before and after surgery was statistically significant(Z=-4.158, P<0.01), as was the difference in the degree of restricted internal rotation(Z=-2.640, P=0.008). The difference in the degree of restricted external rotation was not statistically significant(Z=-1.732, P=0.083). The difference in abnormal head position was statistically significant(Z=-4.181, P<0.01), while the difference in eyeball recession was not statistically significant(Z=-1.414, P=0.157). The difference in vertical deviation was statistically significant(Z=-3.115, P=0.002). A total of 10 patients(83%)had stereoscopic vision before surgery, and 11 patients(92%)had recovered stereoscopic vision after surgery, with a further improvement in stereoacuity in 50% of patients.CONCLUSION:Asymmetric recession of bilateral lateral rectus combined with Y-splitting of the affected lateral rectus can effectively improve the degree of strabismus, abnormal head position, vertical deviation and stereoacuity without aggravating the degree of restriction of external rotation or eyeball recession.

Development and global validation of a 1-week-old piglet head finite element model for impact simulations / 中华创伤杂志(英文版)

PURPOSE@#Child head injury under impact scenarios (e.g. falls, vehicle crashes, etc.) is an important topic in the field of injury biomechanics. The head of piglet was commonly used as the surrogate to investigate the biomechanical response and mechanisms of pediatric head injuries because of the similar cellular structures and material properties. However, up to date, piglet head models with accurate geometry and material properties, which have been validated by impact experiments, are seldom. We aim to develop such a model for future research.@*METHODS@#In this study, first, the detailed anatomical structures of the piglet head, including the skull, suture, brain, pia mater, dura mater, cerebrospinal fluid, scalp and soft tissue, were constructed based on CT scans. Then, a structured butterfly method was adopted to mesh the complex geometries of the piglet head to generate high-quality elements and each component was assigned corresponding constitutive material models. Finally, the guided drop tower tests were conducted and the force-time histories were ectracted to validate the piglet head finite element model.@*RESULTS@#Simulations were conducted on the developed finite element model under impact conditions and the simulation results were compared with the experimental data from the guided drop tower tests and the published literature. The average peak force and duration of the guide drop tower test were similar to that of the simulation, with an error below 10%. The inaccuracy was below 20%. The average peak force and duration reported in the literature were comparable to those of the simulation, with the exception of the duration for an impact energy of 11 J. The results showed that the model was capable to capture the response of the pig head.@*CONCLUSION@#This study can provide an effective tool for investigating child head injury mechanisms and protection strategies under impact loading conditions.

Effectiveness and Safety of Dabrafenib in the Treatment of 20 Chinese Children with BRAFV600E-Mutated Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis / Journal of the Korean Cancer Association, 대한암학회지

Purpose@#We sought to investigate the effectiveness and safety of dabrafenib in children with BRAFV600E-mutated Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH). @*Materials and Methods@#A retrospective analysis was performed on 20 children with BRAFV600E-mutated LCH who were treated with dabrafenib. @*Results@#The median age at which the patients started taking dabrafenib was 2.3 years old (range, 0.6 to 6.5 years). The ratio of boys to girls was 2.3:1. The median follow-up time was 30.8 months (range, 18.9 to 43.6 months). There were 14 patients (70%) in the risk organ (RO)+ group and six patients (30%) in the RO– group. All patients were initially treated with traditional chemotherapy and then shifted to targeted therapy due to poor control of LCH or intolerance to chemotherapy. The overall objective response rate and the overall disease control rate were 65% and 75%, respectively. During treatment, circulating levels of cell-free BRAFV600E (cfBRAFV600E) became negative in 60% of the patients within a median period of 3.0 months (range, 1.0 to 9.0 months). Grade 2 or 3 adverse effects occurred in five patients. @*Conclusion@#Some children with BRAFV600E-mutated LCH may benefit from monotherapy with dabrafenib, especially high-risk patients with concomitant hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and intolerance to chemotherapy. The safety of dabrafenib is notable. A prospective study with a larger sample size is required to determine the optimal dosage and treatment duration.

A single copy of large tumor suppressor 1 or large tumor suppressor 2 is sufficient for normal hematopoiesis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) have the ability to differentiate into all subsets of blood cells and self-renew. Large tumor suppressor 1 (LATS1) and large tumor suppressor 2 (LATS2) kinases are essential for cell cycle regulation, organism fitness, genome integrity, and cancer prevention. Here, we investigated whether Lats1 and Lats2 are critical for the maintenance of the self-renewal and quiescence capacities of HSCs in mice.@*METHODS@#Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression levels of Lats1 and Lats2 in subsets of progenitor cells and mature bone marrow cells. A clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats system was used to generate Lats1 or Lats2 knockout mice. Complete blood cell counts were used to compare the absolute number of white blood cells, lymphocytes, monocytes, neutrophils, and platelets between Lats1 or Lats2 heterozygotes and littermates. Flow cytometry was used to assess the size of hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) and HSC pools in Lats1 or Lats2 heterozygotes and littermates. The comparison between the two groups was analyzed using Student's t test.@*RESULTS@#Lats1 and Lats2 were widely expressed in hematopoietic cells with higher expression levels in primitive hematopoietic cells than in mature cells. Lats1 or Lats2 knockout mice were generated, with the homozygotes showing embryonic lethality. The size of the HPC and HSC pools in Lats1 (HPC: wild-type [WT] vs. heterozygote, 220,426.77 ± 54,384.796 vs. 221,149.4 ± 42,688.29, P = 0.988; HSC: WT vs. heterozygote, 2498.932 ± 347.856 vs. 3249.763 ± 370.412, P = 0.105) or Lats2 (HPC: WT vs. heterozygote, 425,540.52 ± 99,721.86 vs. 467,127.8 ± 89,574.48, P = 0.527; HSC: WT vs. heterozygote, 4760.545 ± 1518.01 vs. 5327.437 ± 873.297, P = 0.502) heterozygotes were not impaired. Moreover, the depletion of Lats1 or Lats2 did not affect the overall survival of the heterozygotes (Lats1: P = 0.654; Lats2: P = 0.152).@*CONCLUSION@#These results indicate that a single allele of Lats1 or Lats2 may be sufficient for normal hematopoiesis.

Inhibitory Effect of Cinnamaldehyde on Proliferation, Migration and Tube Formation of VEGF-induced Endothelial Cells via JAK2/STAT3 Pathway / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of cinnamaldehyde on the angiogenesis of diabetic retinopathy, and the effect of cinnamaldehyde on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induced proliferation, migration, tube formation and Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) pathway of EA.hy 926 cells were observed. Method:EA.hy 926 cells were divided into normal control group, model group (7 μg·L-1 VEGF), and VEGF+cinnamaldehyde group (60, 90, 120, 150 μmol·L-1). The methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay and scratch test were used to observe the effect of cinnamaldehyde on the proliferation and migration of EA. hy 926 cells induced by VEGF. EA. hy 926 cells were divided into normal control group, model group (7 μg·L-1 VEGF), and VEGF+cinnamaldehyde group (90, 150 μmol·L-1). The tube formation experiment was used to observe the effect of cinnamaldehyde on the tube formation of EA. hy 926 cells induced by VEGF. EA. hy 926 cells were divided into normal control group, model group (7 μg·L-1 VEGF), VEGF+AG490 group (50 μmol·L-1), VEGF+cinnamaldehyde group (90 μmol·L-1), VEGF+cinnamaldehyde group (150 μmol·L-1), and VEGF+cinnamaldehyde group (150 μmol·L-1)+AG490 group (50 μmol·L-1). Western Blot method was used to explore the effect of cinnamaldehyde on the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway in EA.hy 926 cells induced by VEGF. Result:Compared with the control group, model group obviously promoted the proliferation and migration of EA.hy 926 cells(P-1) significantly suppressed VEGF-induced proliferation and migration of EA.hy 926 cells (P-1) showed an obvious inhibitory effect on the number of nodes, junctions and meshes of tubules (PPPP-1) significantly reduced the expressions of P-JAK2, P-STAT3, STAT3 proteins (P-1) obviously reduced the expressions of p-STAT3 and STAT3 proteins (PPConclusion:Cinnamaldehyde showed a significantly inhibitory effect on the proliferation, migration and tube formation of VEGF-induced EA.hy 926 cells, which was related to the inhibition of the activation of JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

Immunosuppressive Effect of Exosomes from Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Defined Medium on Experimental Colitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The exosomes released by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in classical FBS-containing media have been demonstrated as an alternative, cell-free therapy in various diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It has been found that the function of exosomes is affected by culture condition. We previously developed a serum-free, xeno-free and chemically defined medium, and umbilical cord-derived MSCs in this medium retained the immunosuppressive capability.METHODS: In this study, we evaluated the immunosuppressive function of exosomes from MSCs (MSC-Exo) in defined medium and their therapeutic effect on treating colitis.RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: In vitro studies indicated that MSC-Exo reduced the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-1β, and increased the secretion of anti-inflammatory cytokines TGF-β1 and IL-10, but no significant change of inhibitory effect on peripheral blood mononuclear cells proliferation was shown. In vivo experimental colitis showed that administration of MSC-Exo was able to significantly ameliorate the disease activity index score, weight loss, colon shortening, and the histological colitis score through up-regulation anti-inflammatory responses and down-regulation of inflammatory responses. Moreover, the use of MSC-Exo (200 μg) led to an improved therapeutic efficacy when compared with MSCs at a dose of 1×10⁶ cells. Our findings indicate that the exosomes from MSCs in defined medium possess a certain degree of immunosuppressive effect in vitro and exhibit a therapeutic capability in a mouse model of DSS-induced colitis through suppressing inflammation mechanism.

Central Nervous System Involvement in 179 Chinese Children with Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Central nervous system (CNS) involvement is found in many patients with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In this study, we mainly analyzed neurological symptoms, imaging findings, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and their relationship with outcomes of HLH children.@*Methods@#Related data of 179 Chinese pediatric patients with HLH admitted to our center from January 2010 to December 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. Diagnosis and treatment were based on the HLH-2004 protocol. Two-tailed Chi-squared test was used to compare between different groups, and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to analyze the overall survival (OS) of patients with HLH.@*Results@#In the present study, 21.2% (38/179) of total patients had neurological symptoms including seizure, irritability, somnolence, and unconsciousness. There were 80 (50.0%, excluding 19 patients without imaging data) patients with cranial imaging abnormalities. There were 14.7% (17/116, excluding 63 patients who did not accept lumbar puncture) of patients with abnormal CSF results. CNS involvement is defined as abnormalities in one or more of CNS symptoms, radiological findings, and CSF. Thus, 60.3% of them had CNS involvement. As for the prognosis, the median follow-up time was 3.2 years (17 lost to follow-up). The probable 3-year OS of children was higher without CNS involvement (86.0% ± 4.6%) than those with CNS involvement (68.9% ± 4.9%, hazard ratio [HR] = 2.286, P = 0.019). Among them, the probable 3-year OS of children without CNS symptoms was 76.0% ± 3.8%, higher than with CNS symptoms (59.5% ± 8.1%, HR = 2.147, P = 0.047). The 3-year OS of children with abnormal CSF was 64.7% ± 11.6%, compared with normal CSF (85.1% ± 3.7%, HR = 0.255, P = 0.038).@*Conclusions@#HLH patients with CNS involvement might have worse outcomes compared with those without CNS involvement, and CNS symptoms and CSF changes are more important to access the prognosis than imaging abnormality.

Clinical Research of Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in Children / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

Background@#Pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) is an interstitial primary pulmonary disease, characterized by Langerhans cell proliferation. It is easily misdiagnosed in children. This study aimed to characterize the clinical manifestations and features of PLCH by retrospective analysis.@*Methods@#A retrospective analysis was performed in 117 PLCH patients out of 338 LCH patients who were admitted in our center from November 2006 to October 2013. Variables between two groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-square test. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed to compare the survival rates and Cox regression to evaluate the effect of risk factors.@*Results@#The median age of PLCH group was significantly lower than that of non-PLCH group (18.63 months vs. 43.4 months, P < 0.001). All PLCH children had other organ involvement and only 11 cases (9.4%) had respiratory symptoms. The most common radiologic finding was cystic lesions (29 cases, 24.8%). Pulmonary function abnormalities were dominated by obstructive ventilatory dysfunction (63 cases, 82.9%). The 5-year overall survival (OS) of PLCH children was 93.6% ± 2.3% and the event-free survival (EFS) was 55.7% ± 5.2%. Among the 38 cases with progressed or relapsed disease, five cases (13.2%) were due to progression or recurrence of lung damage. The 5-year OS of PLCH children with "risk organ" involvement was significantly lower than those without "risk organ" involvement (86.0% ± 4.9% vs. 100%, χ = 8.793, P = 0.003). The difference of EFS between two groups was also significant (43.7% ± 7.7% vs. 66.3% ± 6.5%, χ = 5.399, P = 0.020). The "risk organ" involvement had a significant impact on survival (hazard ratio = 1.9, P = 0.039).@*Conclusions@#PLCH mainly occurs in young children, and only a small percentage of patients have respiratory symptoms. They generally have other organ involvement. Most of PLCH children have a good prognosis and most lung lesions could have improved or stabilized. Management of "risk organ" involvement is the key point to improving EFS.

Effects of Different Types of Electroacupuncture on Expression of High Mobility Group Box Protein-1 and Interleukin-10 in Hippocampus of APP/PS1 Mice / 中国康复理论与实践

@#Objective To compare the effect of impulse electroacupuncture (impulse-EA) and music electroacupuncture (music-EA) for Tongdu Qishen on spatial learning and memory, and expression of cytokine in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice. Methods A total of 32 APP/PS1 double transgenic male mice were randomly divided into model group (n=8), drug group (n=8), impulse-EA group (n=8) and music-EA group (n=8), the same background and age male C57BL/6 mice were observed as normal group (n=8). The impulse-EA group and music-EA group accepted EA at Baihui (GV20) and Yintang (GV29), connected with their own electroacupuncture stimulators, for 20 minuts, then, they were pricked Renzhong (GV26) for a while. The drug group accepted donepezil hydrochloride 0.92 mg/kg intra-gastrically. The normal group, model group and drug group were grabbed and bounded in the same way. After 15 days of treatment, they were assessed with Morris water maze. The expression of high mobility group box pro-tein-1 (HMGB1) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in hippocampus were measured with immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Results The escape latency shortened inEA groups compared with that of the model group since the fourth day of Morris water maze training (P<0.05), and it was the least in the music-EA group; and the ratio of swimming across the target quadrant increased (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between EA groups (P>0.05). The ex-pression of HMGB1 decreased (P<0.05) and the expression of IL-10 increased (P<0.05) in EA groups com-pared with that of the model group, and HMGB1 decreased more and IL-10 increased more in the music-EA group than in the impulse-EA group (P<0.05), according to the measurement in immunohistochemistry, not in Western blotting. Conclusion Both impulse-EA and music-EA based on Tongdu Qishen can promote the recovery of the learning and memory in APP/PS1 mice, and music-EA may do more effectively in inhibition of pro-inflammatory factors and promotion of the anti-inflammatory factors.

Prognostic Significance of Joint Detection of miR-210 and Minimal Residual Disease in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect the expression of microRNA-210(miR-210) in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL), and to evaluate the role of the joint detection of miR-210 and MRD in the prognosis and clinical treatment of pediatric ALL.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-eight children diagnosed with ALL were included in the study. miR-210 was quantitatively detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RQ-PCR) in 88 ALL patients. The average Ct value of samples obtained from 5 pediatric ALL patients with long-term complete continuous remission (CCR>5 years) was used as a calibrator. The expression levels of miR-210 in newly diagnosed patients was calculated by the 2method and presented as multiple changes compared with that of the 5 CCR patients.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of miR-210 in the favorable prognosis group was significantly higher than that in the unfavorable prognosis group (10.64±1.5 vs 3.27±0.68)(P<0.05). Compared with the miR-210 high-expression group, poorer relapse-free survival(RFS), event-free survival(EFS) and overall survival(OS) (P all <0.001) were found in the low-expression group. Based on the expression of miR-210 and MRD, the 88 cases were divided into 3 groups. The relapse rate of miR-210-MRD high-risk group (70%) was significantly higher than that of the miR-210-MRD middle-risk group(6.25%) and miR-210-MRD low-risk group (2.1%). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis demonstrated that the miR-210-MRD high-risk group had poorer RFS, EFS and OS than those in other 2 groups (P all <0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The expression level of miR-210 is an independent prognostic factor for pediatric ALL, and the miR-210 is a good useful indicator for predicting the relapse and induction failure of childhood ALL. Joint detection of miR-210 and MRD can help predict outcomes more precisely, thus may be used as an effective mean of determining prognosis, monitoring recurrence, and guiding treatment.</p>

Infections during induction therapy of protocol CCLG-2008 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a single-center experience with 256 cases in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Infections remain a major cause of therapy-associated morbidity and mortality in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We retrospectively analyzed the medical charts of 256 children treated for ALL under the CCLG-2008 protocol in Beijing Children's Hospital.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 65 infectious complications in 50 patients during vincristine, daunorubicin, L-asparaginase and dexamethasone induction therapy, including microbiologically documented infections (n = 12; 18.5%), clinically documented infections (n = 23; 35.3%) and fever of unknown origin (n = 30; 46.2%). Neutropenia was present in 83.1% of the infectious episodes. In all, most infections occurred around the 15 th day of induction treatment (n = 28), and no patients died of infection-associated complications.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The infections in this study was independent of treatment response, minimal residual diseases at the end of induction therapy, gender, immunophenotype, infection at first visit, risk stratification at diagnosis, unfavorable karyotypes at diagnosis and morphologic type. The infection rate of CCLG-2008 induction therapy is low, and the outcome of patients is favorable.</p>

Research Progress on Expression Regulation, Function and Clinical Significance of CASP8AP2 Gene / 中国实验血液学杂志

We systematically reviewed the results of the studies on expression regulation, biological functions, and clinical prognostic significance of CASP8AP2 gene. At present, the studies showed that the expression of CASP8AP2 gene was regulated by Homeobox proteins and DNA methylation, and could be silenced by miRNA-210. This protein was involved in apoptosis mediated by FAS and TNFα, NF-κB activation mediated by TNFα, regulation of gene expression induced by glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid receptor, comprising Cajal body and histone locus body, transcription of replication-dependent histone, 3' end processing of histone, regulation of S phase progression, in addition to functioning as coactivator of transcription factors c-Myb and p73 to activating many genes' expression. On the other hand, low expression of CASP8AP2 gene was associated with relapse in childhood ALL. The deletion of this gene was related to the poor prognosis of children with T-ALL and T lymphoblastic lymphoma. Furthermore, 3 SNPs in this gene were possibly correlated with genesis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and childhood leukemia. In conclusions, CASP8AP2 was a multifunctional protein. It could function to regulate cell proliferation, apoptosis, and gene expression. In childhood hematological malignancies, CASP8AP2 was a promising molecular marker with prognostic significance. Some SNPs were possibly correlated with leukemo- and lymphomogenesis.

Clinical significance of CASP8AP2 gene methylation in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the methylation level in the promoter of caspase 8 associated protein 2 (CASP8AP2) gene between samples at diagnosis and in complete remission, and to investigate its relationship with clinical features and prognosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Diagnostic DNA samples from 109 newly diagnosed children with ALL admitted from August 2007 to March 2010, and 94 ALL children in CR (complete remission) among them were collected. Bisulfite modification and MethyLight method established by our research team were used to determine the methylation level of the two key CpG sites (at -1189 and -1176) of the promoter of CASP8AP2 gene.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The average methylation level of the two CpG sites in newly diagnosted samples was higher than that in CR samples (71.1% ± 1.7% vs 64.2% ± 21.2%) (P = 0.008). Analysis with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that the area under curve was 0.687 (P = 0.024), indicating that the methylation level of the two CpG sites was able to predict relapse efficiently to some extent, 76.9% was chosed as a cutoff value to divide the patients into high methylation group (49 patients) and low methylation group (60 patients). The incidence of relapse in high methylation group was higher than that in low methylation group (20.4% vs 6.7%) (P = 0.044), five year relapse free survival in high methylation group was also lower than that in low methylation group (Log rank, P = 0.033). Furthermore, high methylation at new diagnosis were correlated with high level of minimal residual disease (MRD) before consolidation therapy (P = 0.011). In the 34 children with MRD ≥ 10(-4) at the end of induction remission, the relapse rate of high methylation patients was significantly higher than that of low methylation patients (8/16 vs 3/18)(P = 0.038).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The abnormal hypermethylation of the two CpG sites (at -1189 and -1176) of the promoter of the CASP8AP2 gene is possibly associated with leukemogenesis in childhood ALL. The treatment outcome is more poor in patients with hypermethylation than that in patients with low methylation. The combination of the methylation level of the two CpG sites and MRD level at the end induction remission is able to predict relapse more effectively.</p>

Correlation analysis of FPGS rs10760502G>a polymorphism with prognosis and MTX-related toxicity in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was aimed to explore the relation between folylpolyglutamate synthetase (FPGS) rs10760502 polymorphism and prognosis and methotrexate (MTX)-related toxicities in pediatric B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Sequenom MassARRAY was used to genotype rs10760502. The χ(2) test, Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression models were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that A allele carriers (GA+AA) had poor relapse free survival (RFS, log-rank: P = 0.004) and event free survival (EFS, log-rank: P = 0.022) compared with the GG genotype carriers. Multivariate Cox-regression analysis results showed that A allele is an independent prognosis factor for poor RFS [hazard ratio (HR), 20.173; 95% CI, 2.535-160.545; P = 0.005] and EFS (HR, 8.133; 95% CI, 1.718-38.512; P = 0.008). No relationship was found between any MTX toxicity and rs10760502 polymorphism. It is concluded that FPGS rs10760502G>A polymorphism may affect the treatment outcome of B-ALL patients.

Evaluation of early response to treatment and its prognostic value in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

This study was purposed to investigate the prognostic value of early response to treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Four indexes were used to assess early response to treatment including response to prednisone on day 8 (D8-PR), percentage of lymphoblast in bone marrow on day 22 (D22-BM) and day 33 (D33-BM), the level of minimal residual disease (MRD) on day 33 (D33-MRD) by morphological and molecular biological method in 426 children with ALL. Prognostic impact of early response to treatment was analyzed, and multivariate analysis of the predictive value was performed by Cox-regression analysis. All patients were followed up until October 31, 2013, with a median follow-up time of 80 months (0.5 to 106 months). The results showed that there were significant differences between event free survivals (EFS) of the sub-groups divided according to the four indexes. The 8 years-EFS in patients with prednisone good response (PGR) was significantly higher than that in patients with prednisone poor response (PPR);patients with M1 in bone marrow on day 22 or day 33 had the better outcomes than that of patients with M2/M3;patients with high level of MRD ( ≥ 10(-4)) had the worse outcomes as compared with patients with low level of MRD (<10(-4)) (P < 0.001). Cox proportional hazard model analysis showed that BCR/ABL fusion gene positive, D8-PR, D33-BM and D33-MRD were the independent prognostic factors for childhood ALL, and the hazard ratio of D33-MRD ≥ 10(-2) was highest (HR:11.886, P < 0.001). It is concluded that early response to treatment is an independent prognostic factor with important prognostic values, and it has important clinical guiding instructive significance for risk stratification in the treatment of children ALL.

Effects of electroacupuncture on circadian rhythm of temperature and melatonin in depression rats model induced by chronic stress / 中国针灸

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on circadian rhythm of temperature and melatonin (MT) in depression rats model induced by chronic stress, so as to explore the biological mechanism of EA for depression.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-four SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a model group and an EA group, 8 cases in each one. Rats in the control group were treated with normal diet for 21 days without any treatment. In the model and EA group, rat model was established by chronic unpredictable stress combined with solitarily feeding method, and rats in the EA group was treated with EA at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Yintang" (GV 29) 1 h before stress stimulation everyday, 2 Hz in frequency and intensity was favorable with the head of rat slightly shivering. The needles were retained for 20 min, once a day for totally 21 days. After EA treatment, open-field experiment was adopted to observe the behavioral improvement; the rats temperatures were monitored at six time points (2:00, 6:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, 22:00) and orbital blood sampling was collected. The level of serum MT was tested by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The circadian rhythm changes of temperature and serum MT in each group were compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The numbers of horizontal movement and vertical movement in the model group were obviously lower than those in the control group (both P < 0.05), while those in the EA group were significantly improved compared with those in the model group (both P < 0.01). The circadian rhythm of temperature and MT disappeared in the model group, which was improved into normal level after EA treatment.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The electroacupuncture has regulation effects on circadian rhythm of temperature and melatonin in depression rat model induced by chronic stress.</p>

Progress of animal research on electro-acupuncture treatment for depression(△) / 中国医学科学杂志(英文版)

This paper summarized the Chinese literatures in the previous 5 years about the pre-clinical animal researches on the application of electro-acupuncture (EA) treatment for depression, searched in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). The efficiency of EA treatment for depression and the mechanism of it were discussed, to shed light on new ideas and new fronts for the further research on depression in clinical or pre-clinical fields.

Research progress on mechanism of bone marrow relapse in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia / 中国实验血液学杂志

The mechanism of bone marrow relapse in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia has been deeply researched in recent years. The roles of hematopoietic stem cells, some gene abnormalities including IKZF1, JAK, CRLF2 and CREBBP, as well as mutation of genes influencing drug resistance have been confirmed to related with relapse of disease. The microRNAs, gene expression profile of patient, microenvironment of bone marrow including bone marrow fibrosis, mesenchymal stem cells and matrix metalloprotease, also play an important role in the process of leukemia recurrence. This article reviewed the details mentioned above.

Evaluation of the efficacy of two successive protocols on pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia with E2A-PBX1 fusion gene / 中华儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy of BCH-03 and CCLG-08 protocols in treating E2A-PBX1 pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>From January 2003 to January 2011, 59 ALL patients identified as E2A-PBX1 were analyzed in a retrospective study. There were 37 and 22 patients treated with Protocol BCH-03 and CCLG-08, respectively. The clinical characteristics at diagnosis, response to early treatment, the time of relapse, relapse-free survival (RFS) and event-free survival (EFS) in the two groups were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>There were no significant differences in gender, age, initial white blood cell count, the central nervous system involvement, immunophenotype, prednisone response, the rate of complete remission, and the time of relapse between the two groups (P > 0.05). The only difference in induction therapy of the two protocols existed in the glucocorticoids used, that is, BCH-03 used 60 mg/m(2) prednisolone and CCLG-08 used 6 mg/m(2) dexamethasone. The doses of vincristine, daunorubicin and L-asparaginase were the same in the two groups. At the end of induction therapy, the MRD negativity rate in BCH-03 group was significantly higher than that in CCLG-08 group (84.2% vs. 47.1%, P = 0.018). The incidences of severe infection of the two groups during induction of remission were similar (P = 0.135). The EFS of BCH-03 group was significantly superior to that of CCLG-08 group (94.5% vs. 71.5%, P = 0.010), and the RFS of BCH-03 group tended to be better than that of CCLG-08 group (94.5% vs. 78.6%, P = 0.059).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compared to Protocol CCLG-08, Protocol BCH-03 was more effective for pediatric E2A-PBX1 ALL, and 60 mg/m(2) prednisolone was more suitable for the induction therapy of this subtype of pediatric ALL.</p>

Estimation of postmortem interval by detecting thickness of cornea using ultrasonic method / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the postmortem changes of cornea thickness measured by ultrasonic pachymetry.@*METHODS@#Eleven rabbits were randomly divided into two groups: one group with intact corneal epithelium and another group without intact corneal epithelium. In the later group, the corneal epithelium of the rabbit was scraped using mechanical elimination method. The corneal thickness was monitored continuously by ultrasonic pachymetry at several postmortem interval points in rabbits of the two groups. The changes of corneal thickness and postmortem interval were explored by relative regression analysis.@*RESULTS@#The thickness of the cornea showed a strong non-linear correlation with the postmortem interval in the group with intact corneal epithelium. The group with intact corneal epithelium showed the correlation coefficient 0.922 and the group without intact corneal epithelium showed the correlation coefficient 0.822, respectively.@*CONCLUSION@#The corneal thickness measured by ultrasonic pachymetry shows a potential value for estimating early postmortem interval. The intact corneal epithelium is a crucial factor for the measurement of cornea thickness by ultrasonic pachymetry.