Stereotactic biopsy for lesions in brainstem and deep brain: a single-center experience of 72 cases

Stereotactic biopsies for lesions in the brainstem and deep brain are rare. This study aimed to summarize our 6-year experience in the accurate diagnosis of lesions in the brain stem and deep brain and to discuss the technical note and strategies. From December 2011 to January 2018, 72 cases of intracranial lesions in the brainstem or deep in the lobes undergoing stereotactic biopsy were retrospectively reviewed. An individualized puncture path was designed based on the lesion's location and the image characteristics. The most common biopsy targets were deep in the lobes (43 cases, 59.7%), including frontal lobe (33 cases, 45.8%), temporal lobe (4 cases, 5.6%), parietal lobe (3 cases, 4.2%), and occipital lobe (3 cases, 4.2 %). There were 12 cases (16.7%) of the brainstem, including 8 cases (11.1%) of midbrain, and 4 cases (5.6%) of pons or brachium pontis. Other targets included internal capsule (2 cases, 2.8%), thalamus (3 cases, 4.2%), and basal ganglion (12 cases, 16.7%). As for complications, one patient developed acute intracerebral hemorrhage in the biopsy area at 2 h post-operation, and one patient had delayed intracerebral hemorrhage at 7 days post-operation. The remaining patients recovered well after surgery. There was no surgery-related death. The CT-MRI-guided stereotactic biopsy of lesions in the brainstem or deep in the brain has the advantages of high safety, accurate diagnosis, and low incidence of complications. It plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of atypical, microscopic, diffuse, multiple, and refractory lesions.

Study on HPV vaccine hesitation and associated factors among female college students in Weifang / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To investigate HPV vaccine hesitation and associated factors among female college students in Weifang, and to provide a suggestions for improving the coverage rate of HPV vaccine among female college students.@*Methods@#The questionnaire of HPV vaccine hesitancy of female college students was designed. By adopting the stratified sampling method, the survey was conducted among female students at one medical university and three nonmedical universities in Weifang. Chi-square test and Logistic regression were used to analyze the influencing factors of vaccine hesitation.@*Results@#Female college students who had high risk perception toward vaccine (OR=4.15, 95%CI=1.55-11.10) and those who were angry about the sideeffects of the vaccine (OR=3.63, 95%CI=1.95-6.75) were hesitate to vaccinate against HPV. Female college students who believed long protection period of HPV vaccine (OR=0.08, 95%CI=0.04-0.17), that women had a high probability of cervical cancer (OR=0.44, 95%CI=0.21-0.90) and that the knowledge of HPV vaccine scored >6 (OR=0.31, 95%CI=0.15-0.67) were more likely to receive HPV vaccine.@*Conclusion@#High risk perception of vaccines and anger at vaccine adverse reactions are important factors affecting HPV vaccines for female college students. Our findings call for strategic role of the state, school-based health education as well as medical professional guidance in lowering HPV vaccination hesitation among fenale college sutdents.

Effects of ergosteroside combined risedronate on fracture healing and BMP-2, BMP-7 and VEGF expression in rats

Purpose To evaluate the effect of ergosterol combined with risedronate on fracture healing. Methods Sixty male Sprague Dawley fracture model rats were assigned into group A (n=20), group B (n=20), and group C (n=20) at random. All rats were fed by gavage until their sacrifice as it follows: group A with ergosteroside and risedronate, group B with risedronate, and group C with saline solution. At weeks 2 and 4, 10 rats of each group were sacrificed. Healing effect and bone tissue changes in the fractures site were assessed by using hematoxylin and eosin stain histology. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the expression of serum bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was applied to detect the expression of osteoprotegerin (OPG) mRNA, osteocalcin (OCN) mRNA and core-binding factor subunit-?1 (CBF-?1) mRNA. Results In terms of serum BMP-2, BMP-7, and VEGF expression at weeks 2 and 4 after gavage, group A < group B < group C (P<0.05). At week 4 after gavage, serum VEGF expression in the three groups harbored positive relationship with serum BMP-2 and BMP-7 expression (P<0.05). Regarding serum OPG, OCN and CBF-?1 mRNA expression at weeks 2 and 4 after gavage, group A

Clinical presentation and genetic profiles of Chinese patients with velocardiofacial syndrome in a large referral centre

Diagnosis and treatment of velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) with variable genotypes and phenotypes are considered to be very complicated. Establishing an exact correlation between the phenotypes and genotypes of VCFS is still a challenging. In this paper, 88 Chinese VCFS patients were divided into five groups based on palatal anomalies and one or two of other four common phenotypes, and copy number variations (CNVs) were detected using multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA), array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The findings showed that palatal anomalies and characteristic malformation of face were important indicators for 22q11.2 microdeletion, and there was difference inthe phenotypic spectrum between the duplication and deletion of 22q11.2. MLPA was a highly cost-effective, sensitive and preferred method for patients with 22q11.2 deletion or duplication. Our results also firstly reported that all three patients who simultaneously exhibited palatal anomalies and cognitive disorder, without other phenotypes, have Top3b duplication, which strongly suggested thatTop3b may be a pathogenic gene for these patients. Further, the findings showed that patients with palatal anomalies and congenital heart disease or immune deficiency, with or without other uncommon phenotypes, exhibited heterogeneity in CNVs, including 4q34.1-qter, 6q25.3, 4q23, Xp11.4, 13q21.1, 17q23.2, 7p21.3, 2p11.2, 11q24.3 and 16q23.3, and some possible pathogenic genes, including BCOR, PRR20A, TBX2, SMYD1, KLKB1 and TULP4 have been suggested. For these patients, aCGH, whole genomic sequencing,combined with references and phenomics database to find pathogenic gene,may be choices of priority. Taking these findings together, we offered an alternative method for diagnosis of Chinese VCFS patients based on this phenotypic strategy.

Expression of HOXA10 gene and its biological effects in endometrial carcinoma / 中国肿瘤生物治疗杂志

@# Objective: To study the expression of H O X A 1 0 gene in endometrial carcinoma and its effect on the apoptosis, migration and invasion of Ishikawa cells. Methods: Twenty-one cases of endometrial carcinoma tissue samples and 25 cases of normal endometrial tissue samples from patients treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from 2012 to 2013 were collected for this study. The mRNA and protein expressions of H O X A 1 0 in endometrial carcinoma and normal endometrial tissues were separately tested by Realtime-qPCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. Ishikawa cells were infected with adenovirus-flagHOXA10 at different multiplicity (5, 10, 20 MOI), and infected by adenovirus-flag-lacz (20 MOI) as control; And the cell apoptosis was tested by Flow Cytometry. Ishikawa cells were transfected with 50 nmol/L si-HOXA10 plasmids and 50 nmol/L si-NC plasmids, as down-regulation group and down-regulation control group, respectively. Ishikawa cells were infected with 20 MOI adenovirus-flagHOXA10 and 20 MOI adenovirus-flag-lacz, as up-regulation group and up-regulation control group, respectively. The ability of migration and invasion was detected by transwell assay. Results: The results of qRT-PCR and Western blotting showed that the expressions of H O X A 1 0 mRNA and protein in endometrial carcinoma samples were both significantly lower than normal samples [mRNA: (0.56± 0.14)vs (1.36±0.33), P<0.01; protein: (1.01±0.25) vs (2.10±0.71), P<0.001]. After the up-regulation of H O X A 1 0 gene in Ishikawa cell line, the cell apoptosis rate in ad-flag-HOXA10 groups (5, 10, 20 MOI) was significantly raised, and most of which was in the early apoptosis [(50.92±8.79)%, (55.17±4.07)%, (76.10±3.65)% vs (7.74 ± 0.15)%, all P <0.01]. The number of migrated cells was markedly up-regulated in si-HOXA10 group [(248±25) vs (135±15), P <0.01] but markedly down-regulated in ad-flag-HOXA10 group [(50±6) vs (100±13), P <0.01]. The number of invasive cells was markedly up-regulated in si-HOXA10 group [(131±18) vs (66±9), P <0.01] but markedly down-regulated in ad-flag-HOXA10 group [(34±8) vs (60±4), P <0.01]. Conclusions: Both mRNAand protein expressions of H O X A 1 0 were down-regulated in endometrial carcinoma samples than in normal endometrium. Up-regulation of H O X A 1 0 gene in Ishi kawa cell line can promote cell apoptosis and inhibit cell migration and invasion.