Therapeutic use of diuretics on prevention and treatment of ischemic stroke in elderly patients / 中华老年医学杂志

Ischemic stroke is mainly seen in the elderly,and more than 90％ of the patients have suffered hypertension.Thiazide diuretic is one of the five types of the first-line antihypertensive drugs,its characteristics include relaxation in action,a broad spectrum of anti-hypertension,exact effect,safety,and low price.It has been used for antihypertensive treatment for more than 50 years.As global evidence-based medicine,it is especially suitable for the elderly patients.Thiazide diuretic can effectively reduce the incidence and recurrence of stroke for the elderly hypertensive patients,no matter how it is used alone or in combination with other antihypertensive drugs,the efficiency of thiazide diuretic has withstood the test of time and practice and has been confirmed with clear evidences.Thus,in the elderly patients at high-risk for ischemic stroke,the use of this effective antihypertensive drug should be further emphasized.

Association of extracellular superoxide dismutase gene methylation with cerebral infarction / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the association of extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) gene methylation with cerebral infarction.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-three patients with cerebral infarction and 94 healthy controls were enrolled. Based on cerebral MR findings, the size of infarction, extent of intracranial atherosclerosis, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, and Barthel index were calculated. Methylation-specific PCR was used to analyze the methylation status of the EC-SOD gene in peripheral blood samples and its correlation with cerebral infarction.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The rate of EC-SOD gene promoter region methylation of the cerebral infarction group was lower than that of the control group (30.1% vs. 53.2%, P < 0.05). Patients with larger area of cerebral infarction (>4 cm in diameter) showed a lower methylation rate than those with a smaller cerebral infarction (0 vs. 39.1%, P < 0.05). Based on their cerebral MRA, 57 patients were divided into none, mild, moderate, and severe cerebral arteriosclerosis groups. The rate of EC-SOD gene methylation of the four groups showed a downward trend (at 45.5%, 42.9%, 23.8%, and 14.3%, respectively), though no statistical significance was found (P > 0.05). For the cerebral infarction group, those with higher rate of methylation had lower NIHSS scores (P < 0.05) but insignificantly higher Barthel index (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The EC-SOD methylation frequency of case group was lower than the control group. The methylation status is associated with the size of cerebral infarction, degree of cerebral arteriosclerosis and severity of neurological impairment.</p>

The use of iterative reconstruction technique in low-dose CT angiography of renal artery / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

Objective To assess the feasibility of computed tomography angiography (CTA) in renal artery using the iterative reconstruction technique (iDose4) in Brilliance iCT (Philips Ltd.).Methods 90 patients (body weight 60-70 kg) supposed to undergo renal artery CTA were selected and randomly divided into three groups:A(120 kV,120 mAs),B(120 kV,60 mAs) and C(100 kV,100 mAs).CTA images from Group A were obtained using filtered back projection and those from the rest groups were generated by iDose4.Then CT number of renal artery,noise (denoted as standard deviation SD),signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of images for each group were measured and recorded.Images were post-processed using volume reformation (VR) 3D imaging and image quality were assessed in five-level grade (1-5).Results The five parameters (CT number of renal artery,SD value,SNR,CNR and VR grade) of group A and group B were statistically insignificant (P ＞ 0.05).While SD values of group C were comparable to those of group A and B,the rest four parameters of group C were apparently larger,which was statistically significant (tCT value =-12.326,tSNR =-7.136,tCNR =-7.649,ZVR =-2.690,PVR ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Image quality could still fit the diagnosis requirements using iDose4 when mAs decreased lower than 50％.The image quality increases when radiation dose is halved at 100 kVp kV.

Imaging features of splenic littoral cell angioma / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the imaging features of splenic littoral cell angioma (LCA)and correlate with pathological findings.Methods Ten patients of LCA with pathologically confirmed diagnosis were included in this study.A retrospective review of clinical data and imaging findings on CT and MRI was performed,along with review of the literature.Results Splenic littory cell angiomas presented with multiple nodules of varying sizes with a predoninance of small ones.Nine of 10 patients had clinical symptoms of splenomegalia and hypersplenia.MR T2WI and DWI showed masses with high-signalintensity.The CT and MRI enhancing pattern of LCA was similar to splenic hemangioma.There were many mammiliform structures pointing inside in the wall of the vascular channels,a hallmark feature allowing its differentiation from splenic hemangioma pathologically.Conclusion The CT and MRI findings of LCA can show some of its characteristic signs,especially on DWI,which can assist to identify LCA in clinical practice.

Stereotactically guided wire localization biopsy for nonpalpable breast lesions / 中华放射学杂志

Objective Through preliminary clinical use of stereotactically guided wire localization biopsy for nonpalpable breast lesions, we discussed the diagnostic accuracy of the technique and its value in early detection of breast carcinomas. Methods Stereotactically guided wire localization biopsy was performed on 26 lesions. The distance between the needle tip and disease center (D) was calculated and compared to that directly obtained from measurement of the localization between wire tip and center of the lesion. Localization was rated as excellent, good, and bad when D values were ≤2.5 mm, =2.6-4.9 mm, and ≥5.0 mm, respectively. Results Excellent, good, and bad localization results were achieved in 20, 5, and 1 procedures, respectively. These data correlated well with the direct measurements of the localization between wire tip and center of the lesion. Resection of 26 lesions on single operation was achieved and the median volume of the resected specimens was 10 5 cm 3. The breast carcinoma detection rate of 6/26 was achieved. Conclusion Our initial application of the technique showed that stereotactically guided wire localization biopsy for nonpalpable breast lesions was an effective tool for the localization and specification of breast lesions. It could avoid false negativity and help excise the entire lesion without excessive excision of the surrounding normal tissues. The technique was one of those that was worthy of more widely application for the preoperative diagnosis of nonpalpable breast lesions.

Th_1/Th_2 type cytokine gene expression in the peripheral blood of patients with Parkinson disease / 临床神经病学杂志

)0.05).Conclusions There is a predominant expression of Th_2-type cytokines in PBMC in PD patients. Abnormal immune function is one of the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of PD.