Multivariate analysis of dyspareunia in women / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Dyspareunia is a common sexual trouble in women during the sexual intercourse. This study is to investigate the risk factors for dyspareunia in urban Chinese women and to supply some evidence for its preventive measures.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We conducted a hospital-based survey by distributing 2 658 copies of a questionnaire among the women in Nanjing urban area who came for regular physical examination in Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Hospital and their female companions aged over 20 years. The sexual function of the subjects was evaluated according to female sexual function indexes, dyspareunia indicated by sexual pain score < 4.4, and the results analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally, 1 856 (69.8%) of the subjects completed the questionnaire, and 1 457 that met the criteria were included for analysis, of whom 43.0% (626/1457) admitted to dyspareunia during the sexual intercourse. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age (> or = 50 years) , smoking, hysterectomy, vaginal lubrication disorder, lack of sexual communication with partners were independent risk factors for dyspareunia (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Dyspareunia is associated with multiple factors including age (> or = 50 years), smoking, hysterectomy, vaginal lubrication disorder, lack of sexual communication with partners.</p>

An investigation on female sexual dysfunction among urban Chinese women in Nanjing / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is a common problem affecting women's quality of life. However, reports are rarely seen on sexual problems in Chinese women. This study is to investigate the prevalence of FSD among urban Chinese women in Nanjing and offer some evidence for the establishment of preventative measures for FSD in China.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A cross-sectional hospital-based survey was conducted in Nanjing, China between August 2008 and March 2009. The sexual function of 609 women aged 20 -56 years from the urban area of Nanjing were investigated using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). The total FSFI score of < 25 was used as the diagnostic criterion for FSD.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total FSFI score was 24.21 +/- 4.40 in this group of women, and it decreased with the increase of age. The overall prevalence of FSD was 56.8%, and it increased with the increase of age, 47.1%, 57.0%, 75.0% and 90.3% in the < 29 yr, 30 - 39 yr, 40 - 49 yr and > or = 50 yr groups, respectively. The most common problems were low sexual satisfaction (43.2%) and orgasm disorder (41.7%), followed by sexual pain (40.2%), hyposexuality (35.1%), vaginal dryness (31.4%) and sexual arousal disorder (29.6%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>FSD is a common problem among urban Chinese women in Nanjing, and the most common sexual problems are low sexual satisfaction and orgasm disorder.</p>

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy on hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization / 癌症

<p><b>BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE</b>Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) of the liver in vivo is in experimental phase. MRS observation on liver cancer after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has seldom been reported. This study was to investigate the value of MRS in assessing the metabolic changes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after TACE.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-five consecutive patients with pathologically-confirmed HCC received 1H MRS of all hepatic lesions using 1.5T whole body MR scanner before TACE and at 3-10 days after TACE. Choline-to-lipid (Cho/Lip), glucogen/glucose-to-lipid (Glu/Lip), and glytamine/glutamate-to-lipid (Glx/Lip) ratios were measured and analyzed statistically.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The Cho/Lip, Glu/Lip, and Glx/Lip ratios were 0.21 +/- 0.08, 0.11 +/- 0.05, 0.28 +/- 0.10 before TACE, respectively, and were 0.10 +/- 0.08, 0.07 +/- 0.07, 0.18 +/- 0.12 after TACE, respectively, with significant differences (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Using MRS can evaluate the early metabolic responses of HCC to TACE.</p>

Expression of PC cell-derived growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and their clinicopathologic significance / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Esophageal carcinoma is a common kind of malignant tumor and about 90% of which is esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and it has a high incidence in China. In recent years it has been argued that angiogenesis plays a key role in tumor growth and metastasis and it is a complex process influenced by many factors. This study was aimed to investigate the expression of PC cell-derived growth factor (PCDGF or progranulin) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ESCC tissue and their relationship with clinical pathological parameters of ESCC, clarify the role of PCDGF and VEGF in the angiogenesis of ESCC.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The expression of PCDGF and VEGF in 50 surgical specimens from patients with ESCC and 20 with normal esophageal mucosa were detected by immunohistochemistry. The vascular endothelial cells in tumor tissues were labeled by antibody to CD105 for counting microvessel density (MVD).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The expression of PCDGF and VEGF in ESCC was significantly higher than that in normal mucosa. Expression correlated with the depth of tumor invasion, lymph node metastasis, and TNM (classification tumor, nodes, metastasis). In ESCC, both the expression level of PCDGF and VEGF had a positive correlation with MVD and the expression of PCDGF had a significant correlation with the expression of VEGF.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results show that both of PCDGF and VEGE have higher expression in ESCC, which indicate that they have a close relationship with angiogenesis. They may be involved in tumor growth, infiltration and metastasis through promoting tumor angiogenesis and may be an important index reflecting biological behavior and prognosis of ESCC.</p>

Potential role of novel hepatocellular carcinoma-associated gene IDD01 in promoting tumorigenesis of HepG2 cell line / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>We have used suppression subtractive hybridization to construct a subtracted cDNA library of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and isolated a panel of differential expression sequence tag (ESTs). By using bioinformatics and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), we found a novel HCC-associated gene IDD01. To further investigate its function, a recombinant eukaryotic vector pEGFP/ORF was constructed and transfected into the HepG2 cell line.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The open reading frame (ORF) of IDD01 was amplified by RT-PCR, digested with Bamh I and Hind III, and subcloned into the pEGFP-C1 vector. The ligation reaction was conducted with T4 DNA ligase, and the recombinant vector was named pEGFP/ORF. Untransfer control (control group), pEGFP-C1 (HepG2/C1 group) and pEGFP/ORF (HepG2/ORF group) transfer groups were designed. Gene transfer was conducted with lipofectamine. To obtain stable transfection in HepG2 cells, selection was initiated with 500 microg/ml G418. Cellular IDD01 mRNA levels were assayed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The MTT colorimetric method and flow cytometry were used to determine the cell proliferation. The tumorigenic potential of transformed cells was determined from their ability to grow as anchorage-independent colonies on soft agar. Transient transfections were performed to observe subcellular location of GFP-IDD01 fusion protein.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A 778 bp specific band of ORF was obtained by RT-PCR, and the positive clone of recombinant plasmid pEGFP/ORF (5.5 Kb) was identified by restriction endonuclease cleavage and sequence. The brightness ratio of IDD01 mRNA was not obvious between control and pEGFP/C1 groups, whereas the ratio of pEGFP/ORF was higher than that in the other two groups. After culture for 24 - 72 hours, the A(490) values in pEGFP/ORF were higher than those in the other two groups (P < 0.01). On histograms of flow cytometry, the S phase ratio of HepG2/ORF cells was significantly higher than that of the control and HepG2/C1 groups. The HepG2/ORF cells were able to form more colonies in soft agar compared with other HepG2 cell lines (P < 0.01). GFP-IDD01 fusion protein predominantly localized in the plasma, whereas EGFP protein diffused all over the cell.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The IDD01 gene is a positive effector in cell proliferation and contributes to the carcinogenesis and progression of HCC. This gene may serve as a potential target for pharmaceutical intervention of HCC.</p>

Serum from partial hepatectomy rat and hepatocyte growth factor stimulate bone marrow cell expressing albumin and alpha fetoprotein / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of serum from partial hepatectomy (PH) rat and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) on expression of albumin and AFP of bone marrow cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The bone marrow mono-nucleated cells were separated from SD rats and cultured in three groups: (1) The medium only group as control was added normal fetal bovine serum; (2) Rat hepatic injury serum group (was added 15% rat serum from 2-AAF+PH model); (3) HGF group (HGF 20 ng/ml). The role of these factors was determined by RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western blot, using AFP and albumin as special hepatocytic markers.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>By immunohistochemical staining and Western blot, the fresh bone marrow cells were AFP-negative, same as the cells cultured with medium only group. While bone marrow cells, co-cultured with rat hepatic injury serum or HGF at day 10 and 20, expressed AFP protein. AFP mRNA expression could be found in bone marrow cells after 10 and 20 days cultured with rat hepatic injury serum or HGF, but not in fresh bone marrow cells and bone marrow cells cultured with medium only. Albumin mRNA expression was weak in fresh bone marrow cell and increased in groups 2 and 3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The rat hepatic injury serum or HGF could stimulate the expression of AFP protein and it's mRNA of bone marrow cells. Also they can stimulate albumin mRNA expression. It seems that, in bone marrow, there is a kind of cells so called bone marrow derived liver stem cell which can express albumin mRNA in a weak style.</p>