ABSTRACT
99mTcO4- thyroid imaging is often used to detect thyroid diseases that are confined to the neck. However, this examination is not frequently used to detect metastatic lesions of thyroid cancer in the whole body, while 131I imaging is often used to detect the metastases of differentiated thyroid cancers. The present study performed 99mTcO4- thyroid imaging for a 69-year-old patient with a thyroid nodule and incidentally identified a lesion with abnormally increased 99mTcO4- uptake in the chest of the patient. Furthermore, a whole-body scan was performed for this patient and multiple lesions with increased 99mTcO4- uptake were identified. The results confirmed that these lesions were follicular thyroid cancer and the metastatic lesions were distributed in numerous locations. The results revealed that analysis of the whole body is significant when regional lesions with abnormally increased 99mTcO4- uptake outside of thyroid tissues are identified by routine 99mTcO4- thyroid imaging.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the distribution characteristics of bone metastases in breast and prostate carcinomas. Bone scintigraphies were performed in 504 cancer patients. We studied the correlation between the distribution and total number of metastatic bone lesions, and compared the distribution of metastatic bone lesions between breast and prostate carcinomas. In the early stage, the distribution in the thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae and pelvis of the metastatic lesions of the prostate carcinoma (81.0%, 47/58) was significantly higher than that of the breast carcinoma (41.7%, 63/151; χ(2)=27.6, P=0.000). The distribution of the lesions in the thoracic skeleton in the cases of the breast carcinoma (65.6%, 99/151) was significantly higher than that of the prostate carcinoma (27.6%, 16/58; χ(2)=24.8, P=0.000); however, the distributions in the advanced cases were not markedly different. The differences in the proportions of the metastatic lesions in the lumbar vertebrae (χ(2)=56.1, P=0.000) and ribs (χ(2)=39.1, P=0.000) in the cases of the prostate carcinoma, and in the sternum (χ(2)=31.2, P=0.000), skull (χ(2)=26.5, P=0.000) and femur (χ(2)=13.6, P=0.001) in the cases of the breast carcinoma were significant. Between the breast and prostate carcinomas, the differences in the proportions of the metastatic lesions of certain bones were also significant. In cases with few bone metastases, the proportion of sternum metastases of patients with breast carcinoma (17.9%) was significantly higher than that of patients with prostate carcinoma (1.7%; χ(2)=12.7, P=0.000); the proportion of metastases in the lumbar vertebrae of prostate carcinoma (39.7%) was significantly higher than that of breast carcinoma (13.9%; χ(2)=15.4, P=0.000); the proportion of rib metastases of breast carcinoma (27.2%) was significantly higher than that of prostate carcinoma (8.6%; χ(2)=9.6, P=0.002). In cases with extensive bone metastases, the proportions of metastatic lesions in the sternum and lumbar vertebrae in breast and prostate carcinomas were not significantly different (P>0.05). In conclusion, the distribution of bone metastases is correlated with the total number of metastatic bone lesions in breast and prostate carcinoma patients, and has different characteristics in different lesions.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether purified herbal extract of Salvia miltiorrhiza can improve the amniotic fluid volume in pre-term oligohydramnios by improving uteroplacental circulation. METHODS: Forty-three pregnant women with oligohydramnios received a daily intravenous dose of 30 mL of salvia extract mixed with 5% glucose 500 mL. A control group of 41 women received daily 5% glucose 500 mL only. The amniotic fluid index (AFI) was assessed at least twice a week by ultrasonographists who were blinded to the treatment. Both women and fetuses were monitored closely. The change in AFIwas calculated and compared by paired t test within and between groups. The revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel group randomized trials were used. RESULTS: After a mean of 7.2 +/- 2.7 days' therapy, ranging from 3 to 18 days, the AFIincreased significantly from a mean of 4.9 +/- 2.3 cm to a mean of 7.12 +/- 2.36 cm, by a mean of AFI0.18 +/- 0.06 cm/day (paired t = 3.62, p < 0.005). In the control group, the AFIincreased from a mean of 5.1 +/- 2.4 cm to a mean of 5.5 +/- 3.1 cm after a mean of 6.1 +/- 3.3 days' treatment, ranging from 4 to 15 days. The effect of salvia treatment on AFIin the salvia group was significantly greater than in the control group (p < 0.001). No side effects were observed in treated patients. CONCLUSION: Salvia miltiorrhiza is an effective Chinese medicine for the treatment of oligohydramnios.
ABSTRACT
Myxobacteria are very important due to their unique characteristics, such as multicellular social behavior and the production of diverse and novel bioactive secondary metabolites. However, the lack of autonomously replicating plasmids has hindered genetic manipulation of myxobacteria for decades. To determine whether indigenous plasmids are present, we screened about 150 myxobacterial strains, and a circular plasmid designated pMF1 was isolated from Myxococcus fulvus 124B02. Sequence analysis showed that this plasmid was 18,634 bp long and had a G+C content of 68.7%. Twenty-three open reading frames were found in the plasmid, and 14 of them were not homologous to any known sequence. Plasmids containing the gene designated pMF1.14, which encodes a large unknown protein, were shown to transform Myxococcus xanthus DZ1 and DK1622 at high frequencies ( approximately 10(5) CFU/microg DNA), suggesting that the locus is responsible for the autonomous replication of pMF1. Shuttle vectors were constructed for both M. xanthus and Escherichia coli. The pilA gene, which is essential for pilus formation and social motility in M. xanthus, was cloned into the shuttle vectors and introduced into the pilA-deficient mutant DK10410. The transformants subsequently exhibited the ability to form pili and social motility. Autonomously replicating plasmid pMF1 provides a new tool for genetic manipulation in Myxococcus.
