ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Internet, smartphones, and the application of health technology have great potential for hypertension management. We aim to evaluate a new mode of mobile health management with a social network application to guide blood pressure management in patients with hypertension. METHODS: Using a randomized controlled trial design, 120 hypertensive patients in the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University who volunteered to participate in the study were randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group was divided into low, middle, or high-risk groups according to the cardiovascular risk stratification. The blood pressures of both the experimental group (the WeChat-guided new mode group) and the control group (the conventional mode group) were administered for three months. RESULTS: With intervention, both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in the experimental group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P=0.016). The SBP and DBP of the experimental group after intervention were lower than those before intervention (P<0.001), which was not observed in the control group (P=0.056). There was no difference in the SBP drops in the low-risk, middle-risk, and high-risk groups (P=0.402). Similarly, no difference in DBP drop was observed (P=0.628). There were no differences in Colorado Pretrial Assessment Tool (CPAT) scores between the experimental group and the control group before intervention (P=0.509). After intervention, CPAT scores in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). Before intervention, there was no significant difference in the Hypertension Patients Self-Management Behavior Rating Scale (HPSMBRS) scores, blood lipid, body mass index (BMI), and urinary microalbumin between the experimental group and the control group (P>0.05). After intervention, the HPSMBRS score in the experimental group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The HPSMBRS score of the experimental group after intervention was higher than before intervention, and BMI, urinary microalbumin, TC, LDL-C were lower than before intervention (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This new mode of mobile health management has a good effect on blood pressure control in patients with hypertension. It provides evidence for the application of mobile information technology for hypertension patients in clinical practice.
ABSTRACT
MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) are small non-coding RNAs that serve a post-transcriptional regulatory role in eukaryotes. Previous studies have demonstrated that the expression of miR-34a in colorectal cancer (CRC) tissues is decreased compared with that in normal colorectal tissues. However, the role of miR-34a in the invasion and metastasis of CRC remains unclear. In the present study, the levels of miR-34a expression were measured in various CRC cell lines. The cells were transfected with miR-34a mimics or inhibitors in order to assess the proliferation rate, and the colony forming, invasive and migratory abilities. Furthermore, the protein expression levels of vimentin and early growth response protein 1 (EGR1) were examined by western blot analysis. The results revealed that the expression of miR-34a was low in SW620, RKO, LoVo and Caco-2 cell lines and high in the SW480 and SW1116 cell lines. The migration, invasion and proliferation levels of SW480 cells were facilitated by decreasing the expression of miR-34a. Transient transfection with miR-34a mimics in SW620 cells caused a notable decrease in cell migration, invasion and proliferation levels compared with the control group, and a downregulation of vimentin and upregulation of EGR1 protein expression. The present study demonstrated that miR-34a was deregulated in a highly invasive CRC cell lines, and that it may attenuate the migratory, invasive and proliferative capabilities of CRC cells by enhancing the expression of EGR1 and inhibiting that of vimentin. The results of the present study represent important progress towards understanding the mechanisms of CRC recurrence and metastasis.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Metastatic low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (LG-ESS) with sex cord-like and smooth muscle-like differentiation is rare. This article reports such a case with multiple recurrences and with extensive pelvic and abdominal metastasis. CASE SUMMARY: A 47-year-old female patient was diagnosed with multiple cystic masses in the pelvic cavity by magnetic resonance imaging examination. Based on the postoperative pathological and immunohistochemical analyses of the surgical specimen, she was diagnosed with a metastatic low-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma with sex cord and smooth muscle differentiation. CONCLUSION: LG-ESS is a low-grade malignant tumor with a high recurrence rate and metastasis probability. It is easily misdiagnosed initially. It is essential to distinguish LG-ESS with sex cord-like differentiation from uterine tumour resembling ovarian sex cord tumour.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the regulatory effect of miR-126 on epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 (EGFL7) in ECV-304 cells. METHODS: The miR-126-expressing plasmid targeting EGFL7 (plegfp-N1-miR-126) was constructed and transiently transfected into ECV-304 cells via liposome. The changes in the mRNA and protein expressions of EGFL7 in the transfected cells were analyzed by fluorescence quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: Transfection with the recombinant plasmid plegfp-N1/miR-126 resulted in decreased EGFL7 expression with the passage of time, and the expression reached the lowest level at 48 h after the transfection. The expression of EGFL7 protein was reduced by 67% following the transfection in comparison with the control level, while the transfection with the empty vector resulted in a reduction only by 6.5% relative to the control level. CONCLUSIONS: miR-126 can downregulate EGFL7 expression at the protein level in ECV-304 cells.
Subject(s)
Endothelial Cells/metabolism , Endothelial Growth Factors/metabolism , MicroRNAs/genetics , Transfection , Calcium-Binding Proteins , Cell Line , Down-Regulation/genetics , EGF Family of Proteins , Endothelial Growth Factors/genetics , Humans , RNA, Messenger/genetics , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Umbilical Veins/cytologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To observe the therapeutic effect of Xuesaitong soft capsule (XST) and its effect on platelet counts, coagulation factor 1 (CF1) as well as hemorrheologic indexes in treating patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). METHODS: Two hundred and four patients with ACI were assigned into two groups, the control group (n = 96) and the treated group (n = 108). They were all treated with conventional Western medicines, including mannitol, troxerutin, citicoline, piracetam and aspirin, while to the treated group, XST was given additionally through oral intake, twice a day, 2 capsules each time for 8 successive weeks. The clinical efficacy was evaluated according to the nerve function deficits scoring and the changes of platelet count. CF1 and hemorrheological indexes were measured before and after treatment. RESULTS: The total effective rate was 87.0% in the treated group, and 87.5% in the control group, respectively, showing insignificant difference between them. But the markedly effective rate in the treated group (66.7%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (27.1%, P < 0.01). The count of platelet was not changed significantly in both groups after treatment, while CF1 in them evidently lowered at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks of treatment, but showed insignificant difference between the two groups. The hematocrit, whole blood viscosity and plasma viscosity in both groups were all improved significantly after treatment, but also showed insignificant difference in comparison of the two groups. CONCLUSION: XST has good efficacy in auxiliary treatment of patients with ACI, though its mechanism remains to be further explored.
