Research progress in assisting in the diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease through eye structure / 国际眼科杂志(Guoji Yanke Zazhi)

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a common degenerative disease of the central nervous system in which neuropathological changes precede cognitive dysfunction and behavioral impairment. Currently, early diagnosis of AD is based on invasive and expensive testing techniques that are difficult to use widely in the clinical setting. Therefore, there is an urgent need for new markers to detect AD at an early stage. The eye, as an extension of the brain, has been found to show earlier onset of ocular pathologic changes in patients with AD compared to brain pathologic changes, such as retinal structural abnormalities, visual dysfunction, retinal abnormal protein accumulation, choroidal thickness changes, decreased corneal nerve fiber density, deposition of abnormal Aβ proteins in the lens, and pupillary light decreased sensitivity of response, etc. This article reviews the ocular pathologic changes in AD patients in recent years to provide new ideas for the early clinical diagnosis of AD.

Application of Rat Model of Neurotic Erectile Dysfunction in Experiment / 中国医学科学院学报

Erectile dysfunction (ED) refers to the persistent inability to achieve and/or maintain a sufficient erection of the penis to obtain a satisfactory sexual life,which affects the quality of life of the patients and their sexual partners.To decipher the pathophysiological mechanism of ED,researchers have established a variety of animal models and achieved a series of progress.The cavernous nerve (CN) of rodents,anatomically similar to that of humans,is cost-effective,thick,and easy to be identified,which has gradually become the mainstream of animal models.In this paper,we reviewed the modeling methods of the neurological ED caused by bilateral CN injury in rats in recent years,summarized the model evaluation indicators,and discussed the application and progress of ED models in basic experimental research.

Evaluation of myocardial perfusion and systolic function in patients with coronary heart disease by myocardial contrast echocardiography and 2-dimensional speckle tracking imaging / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#The high prevalence and high fatality rate of coronary heart disease seriously endanger the safety of human life. The key to its treatment is to restore the perfusion of the narrowed coronary arteries as soon as possible. Two-dimensional echocardiography is limited for assessment of postoperative myocardial function. Myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) and 2-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI) possess good value in assessing myocardial perfusion and systolic function. We used MCE and 2D-STI to explore the changes of myocardial perfusion and systolic function after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary heart disease, and to evaluate the clinical value of MCE and 2D-STI.@*METHODS@#Twenty patients with coronary heart disease undergoing PCI were selected. MCE was performed before and one day after PCI, and 2D-STI and conventional ultrasound were performed before and a month after PCI. The recovery of left ventricular wall motion was used as a standard to evaluate the ability of MCE semi-quantitative analysis and to predict the recovery of myocardial segment motion.@*RESULTS@#The quantitative value of MCE (signal intensity of contrast medium in plateau phase, slope of curve, and their product) one day after PCI and the contractile function of one month after PCI were significantly improved (all @*CONCLUSIONS@#MCE and 2D-STI can evaluate the improvement of myocardial perfusion and systolic function in patients with coronary heart disease after PCI, and MCE semi-quantitative analysis can effectively predict the ability of ventricular wall recovery.

Current Situation of Clinical Feature and Gene Phenotype of Young Adult Lung Cancer / 中国肺癌杂志

Young adult lung cancer is defined as a group of patients refers to whose onset age is less than 40 years old and ≥18 years old. Compare with elder lung cancer, the clinical symptoms of them are not typical, the stage is usually late at the time of discovery, and most of them have regional lymphatic metastasis or distant metastasis. Current study found that young adult lung cancer has a relatively unique genetic background, the abundance of tumor-driving genes is high, and it is closely related to its clinical manifestation and prognosis. Young adult lung cancer is the focus of attention in the field of cancer in recent years. This article reviewed the literature on the clinical features, gene phenotypic characteristics and prognosis of young adult lung cancer in order to provide provide some references and clues for the study on young adult lung cancer.

Research Progress of Catheter-based Irreversible Electroporation for Tissue Ablation / 中国医疗器械杂志

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is an emerging tissue ablation technique. Compared with thermal ablation technique such as radiofrequency, IRE can achieve focal ablation in a shorter time without heat sink effect while sparing the tissue scaffold. IRE has been demonstrated to be a feasible therapeutic modality for the liver, pancreatic, and prostatic cancer. In recent years, several studies regarding of catheter-directed IRE for digestive tract, bronchus, urinary tract, and myocardium have been performed, which preliminarily demonstrated the safety and efficacy of IRE for tissue ablation under endoscopic or interventional technique. This study summarized the research progress of catheter-directed IRE for tissue ablation. The critical technique and future direction of catheter-based IRE are prosp.

Medical Philosophy in Ancient Greece and Its Enlightenment / 中国医学伦理学

Medical philosophy has important guiding significance for the development of medicine. Ancient Greek medical philosophy has rich connotation and strong vitality. In the study of ancient Greek medical philosophy and combined with"the positioning of basic medicine"and"doctor-patient relationship"and other outstanding is-sues in the current development of medicine, we found that the rational examination of medical theory and medical treatment in ancient Greek medical philosophy, ways of thinking and analytical methods of medical philosophy and the character that physician should have had an important value in the development of modern medicine. We should pay attention to basic medical research,pursue innovative thinking, be good at using critical thinking and pay atten-tion to the training of humanistic spirit among medical workers.

The prospects of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of liver disease / 药学学报

Ferroptosis is a novel type of cell death which induced by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation accumulation. This type of cell death is significantly different from other cell death in terms of morphology, genetics and biochemistry. It has been reported that ferroptosis is involved in a variety of human diseases, particularly in liver diseases. Therefore, screening and studying of inhibitors or activators of ferroptosis may provide novel strategies for prevention and treatment of liver diseases. This review provides the biological characteristics and regulatory signaling pathways of ferroptosis, as well as the relationship between ferroptosis and liver diseases, which will contribute to new insight into the pathogenesis of liver diseases.

Evaluation of the efficiency of different instrumentation for root canal retreatment using micro-computed tomography / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish the three-dimensional model of human permanent premolars based on Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) data, and evaluate the efficiency quantitatively of two different instrumentations for root canal retreatment.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Forty extracted permanent premolars for the reason of orthodontic treatment were collected, prepared by using ProTaper Ni-Ti files and filled by cold gutta pertscha lateral condensation technique. The subjects were scanned by Micro-CT. Forty teeth were randomly divided into two groups and retreated by K-Flexo files and ProTaper Universal retreatment system respectively. Then all subjects were scanned again, and the mean percentage of remaining filling materials and the scores of remaining filling materials presented in upper, middle and apical 1/3 of the canal were calculated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Mean percentage of the remaining filling materials by K-Flexo files was lower than that by ProTaper Universal retreatment system (P=0.005). The scores demonstrated that K-Flexo files had greater efficiency than ProTaper Universal retreatment system when retreating the apical 1/3 of canal (P<0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This study shows that both techniques could not remove filling materials completely.</p>

Study of vascular endothelial growth factor and transforming growth factor beta1 genes regulate the mineral-related genes in human cells from apical papilla / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To clone the VEGF165 gene and to construct eucaryotic expression vector, investigate the effect of overexpressed VEGF165 and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) on the mineral-related genes in human cells from apical papilla.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Total RNA of ECV304 cell was extracted. The VEGF165 gene was amplified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and then was subcloned into eucaryotic expression vector pcDNA3.1hisA to construct the recombinant vector pcDNA3.1hisA-VEGF165. After being identified by digestion and DNA sequencing, pcDNA3.1hisA-VEGF165, and pcDNA3.1hisA-TGFbeta1 were transfected into human cells from apical papilla Then the efficiency of gene transfection and the expression of bone sialoprotein (BSP), dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), osteocalcin (OCN), dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) were detected by Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Cloned VEGF165 gene sequences and inserted into expression vector of the VEGF165 sequences showed 100% homology related to the sequence in GenBank database. VEGF165 and TGFbeta1 mRNA were upregulated after transfection. The expression of DSPP mRNA were significantly increased in each experiment group (P < 0.05). The expression of OCN mRNA were increased significantly in the group transfected with pcDNA3.1hisA-TGFbeta1 and transfected with two plasmids (P < 0.05). The expression of BSP mRNA were not varying (P > 0.05), while no expression of DMP1 mRNA in each experiment group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The recombinant eucaryotic expression vector of pcDNA3.1hisA-VEGF165 was constructed successfully. VEGF165 and TGFbeta1 can induce the expression of most mineral-related genes and they may play a key role during the differentiation of human cells from apical papilla.</p>

Incidence of C-shaped root canal systems in mandibular second molars in the native Chinese population by analysis of clinical methods / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

The aims of the study were to investigate the incidence of C-shaped root canal systems in mandibular second molars in a native Chinese population using radiography and clinical examination under microscope and to compare the relative efficacies of these methods. For the recognition of C-shaped root canal system, 1 146 mandibular second molars were selected and examined. Teeth with C-shaped canal systems were categorized by using the radiographic classification criteria and the modified Melton's method. C-shaped canals were identified in 397 (34.64%) mandibular second molars by radiography (type I, 31.23%; type II, 38.29%; type III, 30.48%). Clinical examination showed that 449 (39.18%) cases exhibited C-shaped canal systems (C1, 22.94%; C2, 48.11%; C3a, 15.59%; C3b, 13.36%). As for the result of the radiographic and clinical combined examination, C-shaped root canals were found in 473 (41.27%) mandibular second molars (C1, 21.78%; C2, 45.67%; C3a, 16.70%; C3b, 15.86%). The incidence of C-shaped root canal diagnosed by radiographic method was statistically different from that by clinical examination and the combined examination (P<0.05). The study indicated a high incidence of C-shaped canal system in a Chinese population. The combination of microscopic and radiographic examination is an effective method in identifying the C-shaped root canal system.

MTT assay for detecting 5-fluorouracil chemosensitivity of human breast carcinoma cell line / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the feasibility of MTT colorimetric assay for testing the in vitro chemosensitivity of breast cancer cells to 5 fluorouracil (5-Fu).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The chemosensitivity of human breast carcinoma cell lines MCF-7 and MDA-MB-435S to 5-Fu at different concentrations was evaluated with MTT assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>5-FU treatment resulted in dose-dependent growth inhibition of the breast cancer cells with both low and high metastatic capacities.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>MTT assay may help select appropriate chemotherapeutic agents and provides evidence for individualized chemotherapy for breast cancer.</p>

A new bibenzyl derivative from Bletilla striata / 药学学报

<p><b>AIM</b>To study the chemical constituents of Bletilla striata.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Various column chromatographies with silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 were employed for the isolation and purification. The structures of the compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectral analyses and chemical methods.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three compounds were isolated from the roots of Bletilla striata (Thunb.) Reichb. f. and identified as 5-hydroxy-4-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-3'-3-dimethoxybibenzyl (I), schizandrin (II), 4,4'-dimethoxy-(1,1'-biphenanthrene)-2,2',7,7'-tetrol (III).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compound I is a new bibenzyl derivative and II was isolated from this plant for the first time.</p>