Combining Coronary with Carotid and Cerebrovascular Angiography Using Prospective ECG Gating and Iterative Reconstruction with 256-slice CT.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the image quality and radiation dose of combined coronary and carotid/cerebrovascular angiography with ECG gating and iterative reconstruction using 256-slice CT compared with the findings with the two examinations performed separately. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred sixty-five consecutive patients underwent a single-injection single-pass combination of coronary and carotid/cerebrovascular CT angiography (group A), coronary CT angiography alone (group B), or carotid/cerebrovascular CT angiography alone (group C). We assessed the image quality of the combined and separate examinations and calculated the respective effective radiation doses. We evaluated the differences in the proportions of image quality grade between the combination and single-examination groups. Diagnostic performance of the combined scanning for detecting significant vascular stenosis has been compared with reference digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the patient subgroup of group A. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in age, body mass index (BMI), or gender distribution among the 3 groups (all P > 0.05). But there was significant difference in scan length, DLP, and effective dose among the 3 groups (all P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in the effective radiation dose of coronary scanning between groups A and B (P > 0.05), while the effective radiation dose of carotid/cerebrovascular scanning in group A was significantly lower than that in group C (P < 0.05), and the total effective radiation dose in group A were relatively low (2.21 ± 1.38 mSv). The differences of the proportion of carotid/cerebrovascular image quality grades between groups A and C were not significant (P > 0.05). In a subgroup of group A of 30 patients with DSA, combined computed tomographic angiography successfully detected 56 coronary stenosis on per-segment basis, and 62 stenosis on carotid and cerebral artery. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value (NPV) of coronary stenosis were 91.80%, 95.60%, 87.50% and 97.21%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and NPV of carotid/cerebrovascular stenosis were 93.55%, 94.68%, 92.06% and 95.70%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Combination of coronary and carotid/cerebrovascular angiography with 256-slice CT scanner with prospective ECG gating and iterative reconstruction produces diagnostic-quality images of the coronary, carotid, and cerebrovascular systems in a single examination, using less contrast medium and a lower radiation dose than when the two examinations are performed separately. This novel technique has high accuracy in detecting significant stenosis in one image setting.

Mechanism of the protective effect of phenylephrine pretreatment against irradiation-induced damage in the submandibular gland.

Irradiation is a fundamental treatment modality for head and neck malignancies. However, a significant drawback of irradiation treatment is the irreversible damage to salivary glands in the radiation field. Although the protective effect of phenylephrine pretreatment on salivary glands following irradiation has previously been demonstrated, the exact mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the cytoprotective mechanisms of phenylephrine pretreatment in rat submandibular glands following irradiation. Rats were locally irradiated using a linear accelerator in the head and neck region with a single dose of 20 Gy. Phenylephrine (5 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 30 min prior to irradiation and the submandibular glands were collected on day 7 after irradiation. In comparison with the control group, the irradiation-only group demonstrated severe atrophy, enhanced cell proliferation and increased apoptosis. The phenylephrine-pretreated group, however, demonstrated markedly alleviated atrophy, further increased cell proliferation and decreased apoptosis compared with the irradiation-only group. The data indicated that the cytoprotective mechanisms of phenylephrine pretreatment in the submandibular gland following irradiation may be related to improved cell proliferation and inhibition of cell apoptosis.

[Association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the IRAK-4 gene and allergic rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the genetic association pattern between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the interleukin-1 receptor-associated kinase 4 (IRAK-4) gene and allergic rhinitis (AR). METHODS: A population of 379 patients with the diagnosis of AR and 333 healthy controls who lived in Beijing region was recruited. A total of 8 reprehensive marker SNP which were in IRAK-4 gene region were selected according to the Beijing people database from Hapmap website. The individual genotyping was performed by MassARRAY platform. SPSS 13.0 software was used for statistic analysis. RESULTS: Subgroup analysis for the presence of different allergen sensitivities displayed associations only in the house dust mite-allergic cohorts (rs3794262: P = 0.0034, OR = 1.7388; rs4251481: P = 0.0023, OR = 2.6593), but not in subjects who were allergic to pollens as well as mix allergens. CONCLUSION: The potential genetic contribution of the IRAK-4 gene to AR demonstrated an allergen-dependant association pattern in Chinese population.

[Association analysis between single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the FCER1A gene and serum total IgE level in patients with allergic rhinitis].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the FCER1A gene are associated with serum total IgE level in Chinese allergic rhinitis (AR) cohort. METHODS: A total of 378 patients diagnosed as AR was included in this study. Serum total IgE level was detected by UniCAP100 testing system. A total of 8 representativeness marker SNP which were in FCER1A gene region were selected according to the Beijing people database from Hapmap website and the running results of Haploview 4.1 software. The individual genotyping was performed by MassARRAY platform. RESULTS: Three hundred and seventy-eight individuals (227 males and 151 females) with AR were prospectively recruited. The median of the total serum IgE measurements for the study population were 150 kU/L and ranged from 6.94 kU/L to 5000 kU/L. Levene tests showed the homogeneity of variance of total IgE level among different genotypes regarding each SNP locus. ANOVA tests demonstrated that none of the selected polymorphism loci in FCER1A was associated with total IgE level. CONCLUSION: Present study failed to find an association between SNP in the FCER1A gene region and serum total IgE level in Chinese AR.

Regulatory effect and mechanism of gastrin and its antagonists on colorectal carcinoma.

AIM:To explore the effect and mechanism of gastrin and its antagonists prog lumide and somatostatin on colorectal carcinoma and their clinical significance.METHODS:A model of transplanted human colonic carcinoma was established from SW480 cell line in gymnomouse body.The volume and weight of transplanted carcinoma was observed under the effect of pentagatrin (PG), proglumide (PGL) and octapeptide somotostatin (SMS201-995, SMS). The cAMP content of carcinoma cell was determined by radioimmunoassay and the DNA, protein content and cell cycle were determined by flow-cytometry. The amount of viable cells was determined by MTT colorimetric analysis,IP(3) content was determined by radioimmunoassay, Ca(2+) concentration in cell by fluorometry and PKC activity by isotopic enzymolysis. The expression of gastrin, c-myc, c-fos and rasP21 in 48 cases of colorectal carcinoma tissue was detected by the immuno-cytochemistry SP method. Argyrophilia nucleolar organizer regions was determined with argyrophilia stain.RESULTS:The volume,weight, cAMP, DNA and protein content in carcinoma cell, cell amount and proliferation index of S and G(2)M phase in PG group were all significantly higher than those of control group. When PG was at the concentration of 25mg/L, the amount of viable cells, IP(3) content and Ca(2+) concentration in cell and membrane PKC activity in PG group were significantly higher than those in control group; when PGL was at a concentration of 32mg/L, they dropped to the lowest level in PG (25mg/L)+PGL group, but without significant difference from the control group. The positive expression rate of gastrin, c-myc, c-fos and rasP21 in carcinoma tissue was 39.6%, 54.2%, 47.9% and 54.2% respectively and significantly higher than that in mucosa 3cm and 6cm adjacent to carcinoma tissue and normal colorectal mucosa. The positive expression rate of gastrin of highly differentiated adenocarcinoma group was significantly higher than that of poorly differentiated and mucinous adenocar-cinoma groups. The AgNORs count of carcinoma tissue was significantly higher than that in mucosa 3cm and 6cm adjacent to carcinoma tissue and normal colorectal mucosa; and the positive expression of c-myc and c-fos and the AgNORs count in gastrin-positive group was significantly higher than those in gastrin negative group.CONCLUSION:Pentagastrin has a promoting effect on the growth of transplanted human colonic carcinoma from SW480 cell line. PGL has no obvious effect on the growth of human colonic carcinoma SW480 cell line, but could inhibit the growth promoting effect of PG on transplanted carcinoma. Somatostatin can not only inhibit the growth of transplanted human colonic carcinoma from SW480 cell line directly but also depress the growth-promoting effect of gastrin on the transplanted carcinoma. Some colorectal carcinoma cells can produce and secrete gastrin through autocrine, highly differentiated adenocarcinoma express the highest level gastrin.Endogenous gastrin can stimulate the cell division and proliferation of carcinoma cell and promote the growth of colorectal carcinoma regulating the expression of oncogene c-myc, c-fos. Our study has provided experimental basis for the adjuvant treatment using gastrin antagonist such as PGL, somatostatin of patients with colorectal carcinoma.