Changes in cognitive and behavioral function in patients with cerebral small vessel disease and their correlation with serum homocysteine and cystatin C levels / 中国基层医药

Objective:To investigate the changes in cognitive and behavioral function in patients with cerebral small vessel disease and their correlation with serum homocysteine (Hcy) and cystatin C (CysC) levels.Methods:Ninety-four patients with cerebral small vascular disease who received treatment in Zhejiang Xin'an International Hospital from March 2019 to March 2021 were included in the observation group. An additional 80 healthy controls who concurrently received physical examination were included in the control group. The Mini-Mental State Scale (MMSE) and the Montreal Assessment Scale (MoCA) were used to evaluate cognitive function. The activity of daily living (ADL) was used to evaluate behavioral function. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure serum Hcy and CysC levels. MMSE score, MoCA score, ADL score, serum Hcy and CysC levels were compared between the two groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of serum Hcy and CysC levels in the diagnosis of cerebral small vessel disease. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to analyze the correlation between serum Hcy and CysC levels and cognitive behavioral function.Results:MMSE score, MoCA score, and ADL score in the observation group were (21.21 ± 2.87) points, (20.18 ± 3.25) points, and (34.32 ± 5.45) points, which were significantly lower than (28.23 ± 1.02) points, (28.45 ± 0.89) points and (76.35 ± 8.29) points in the control group ( t = 20.78, 22.05, 40.03, all P < 0.05). Serum Hcy and CysC in the observation group were (16.28 ± 2.97) μmol/L and (1.21 ± 0.23) mg/L, which were significantly higher than (8.35 ± 1.76) μmol/L and (0.56 ± 0.12) mg/L in the control group ( t = 20.95, 22.77, both P < 0.05). ROC curve analysis showed that the sensitivity and specificity of serum Hcy in diagnosing cerebral small vessel disease were 85.29% and 53.85%, respectively; the sensitivity and specificity of serum CysC in diagnosing cerebral small vessel disease were 81.54% and 41.38%, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that serum Hcy level was linearly negatively correlated with MMSE score, MoCA score, and ADL score ( r = -0.79, -0.68, -0.71, all P < 0.05); serum CysC level was linearly negatively correlated with MMSE score, MoCA score, and ADL score ( r = -0.67, -0.75, -0.78, P < 0.05). Conclusion:The cognitive and behavioral function of patients with cerebral small vessel disease are decreased, and serum Hcy and CysC levels are increased. Serum Hcy and CysC levels are closely related to the cognitive and behavioral function of patients with cerebral small vessel disease.

Worsened brain edma and the level of serum HMGB1 and S100B of IL-4 knockout mice after traumatic brain injury / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the changes of brain edma and expression of blood high mobil-ity group box 1(HMGB1) and calcium binding protein S100B after traumatic brain injury (TBI) in IL-4 knockout (IL-4 KO) mice,and to explore the effects of IL-4 on traumatic brain injury. Methods Twenty male wild type ( WT) or twenty male IL-4 KO BALB/cJ mice were randomly divided into WT sham TBI group,WT TBI group,IL-4 KO sham TBI group and IL-4 KO TBI group(n=10 in each group).The model of traumatic brain injury was established by the free falling body epidural impact method,then the brain water content was measured. The expression of aquaporin-4 ( APQ4) and HMGB1 in injured brain of each group was detected by Western blot,and the concentration of HMGB1 and S100B in serum was detected by ELISA assay. Results ( 1 ) The brain water content of injured lateral brain of BALB/cJ mice with IL-4 gene knockout was significantly higher than that of wild type mice with brain injury model (WT group: (80.03± 0.35)％;IL-4 KO group:(81.93±0.41)％;P<0.05).(2) The Western blot showed that the expression of AQP4 and HMGB1 in brain tissue of BALB/cJ mice with IL-4 gene knockout was significantly higher than those in wild type mice after traumatic brain injury. ( 3) The results of ELISA showed that the levels of HMGB1 and S100B in the serum of IL-4 knockout BALB/cJ mice were significantly higher than those of wild type mice (HMGB1:WT group:(9.21±0.74)ng/ml;IL-4 gene knock-out group:(13.39±1.33)ng/ml,P<0.05;S100B protein:WT group:(11.11±0.84)pg/ml;IL-4 KO group: (18.11±2.02)pg/ml,P<0.05 ). Conclusion The brain tissue water content and the expression of APQ4 are increased in IL-4 KO TBI mice.The expression of HMGB1 in brain issue and serum and S100B in serum are also up-regulated.

Clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography in the differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>ARFI elastography was performed for 169 lesions from 163 patients with focal liver lesions and 15 healthy volunteers, and the virtual touch tissue imaging (VTI) findings and measured value of shear wave velocity (SWV) of liver lesions were obtained and compared between groups. The t-test was applied for comparison of means between two groups; the one-way analysis of variance was applied for comparison of means between multiple groups, and the Student-Newman-Keuls test was applied for further comparison between any two groups.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Benign focal liver lesions were stiffer or softer than or had the same stiffness as the surrounding liver parenchyma. These lesions had a uniform texture, and the ratio between their diameters on elastographic images and two-dimensional images was close to 1. The typical VTI finding of hemangioma lesions was"honeycomb"pattern. Most malignant focal liver lesions were stiffer than the surrounding liver parenchyma, and the ratio between their diameters on elastographic images and two-dimensional images was greater than 1. The typical VTI finding of metastatic lesions was"bull's eye"sign. With a measured SWV of 2.08 m/s as the diagnostic threshold for malignant liver lesions, its sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 90.3%, 76.9%, and 84.2%, respectively. Poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) showed a significant increase in stiffness compared with moderately differentiated HCC (t = 5.319, P = 0.025) and well-differentiated HCC (t = 6.372, P = 0.011).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ARFI elastography can reflect changes in the stiffness of focal liver lesions accurately, and is useful for the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant focal liver lesions.</p>

Effects of Ultra-filtration Extract from Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Hedysarum Polybotrys on Expressions of HSP70 and eNOS in H2O2-induced Endothelial Cell Apoptosis / 中国中医药信息杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of ultra-filtration extract from the mixture of Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Hedysarum Polybotrys (UFE-AH) on the expressions of HSP70 and eNOS in H2O2-induced endothelial cell apoptosis. Methods H2O2 induced ECV-304 cell apoptosis to prepare models. The experiment was divided into normal control group, model group, simple medicine group, medicine intervention group, and all treatment groups received relevant medicine for intervention. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect apoptosis and concentration of intracellular Ca2+;RT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of HSP70 and eNOS;Western blot was used to detect the expression of HSP70 protein;Nitrale reduetase and spectrophotometric method were employed to detect the content of NO. Results Compared with normal control group, cell apoptosis rate, concentration of intracellular Ca2+, and expression of HSP70 increased significantly in model group (P<0.05);gene expression of eNOS mRNA and content of NO decreased (P<0.05). Compared with model group, cell apoptosis rate and concentration of intracellular Ca2+dropped in medicine intervention group (P<0.05);expressions of HSP70, eNOS mRNA and content of NO increased (P<0.05). Conclusion UFE-AH can confront H2O2-induced cell apoptosis H2O2 of ECV-304 human umbilical vein endothelial by increasing the expressions of HSP70 and eNOS and content of NO, and reducing the intracellular calcium overload.