[The therapeutic effect of small dose of estrogen on cerebral infarction].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the mechanism of protective effect of estrogen on cerebral damage in ischemic stroke by measuring the estrogen(2) (E(2)), blood lipid, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), nitric oxide (NO), and also assessment according to national institute of health stroke scale (NIHSS) score, in order to improve the treatment of cerebral infarction. METHODS: Forty male patients, in whom cerebral infarction due to thrombosis of middle cerebral artery was confirmed by CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), were divided into two groups: E(2) therapy (20 cases) and routine therapy (20 cases). Routine therapy was the same in both groups, except 2 mg of E(2) was orally given (2 times a day) to the E(2) therapy group. E(2), testosterone (Ts), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), IL-1 beta, NO, and NIHSS score were measured in each patient at time points of 0, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days. RESULTS: In E(2) group, HDL-C and E(2) were increased significantly, and TC and LDL-C were decreased significantly from 3 days on after treatment, and the changes were obviously more marked than that of routine therapy group (all P<0.05). The changes in TG and Ts were not obvious. NO, IL-1 beta were increased significantly (both P<0.05), and NIHSS score was decreased in routine group form 14 days on after treatment. NO and IL-beta in E(2) group were lower than those in routine therapy group from 3 days on, and the NIHSS score was significantly lower on 14 days and 21 days in E(2) group (both P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The protective effect of E(2) is obvious. It may be due to the results of modulation of blood fat, anti-inflammation and modulation of NO production by the action of E(2). Low dose and short time therapy of E(2) may be beneficial to the patient.

[Expression pattern of tumor-associated antigen MG7-Ag in gastric cancer: difference between Tibetans and Hans].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the difference of the expression pattern of tumor-associated antigen MG(7)-Ag in gastric carcinoma between Hans and Tibetans. METHODS: Avidin-biotin peroxidase complex immunohistochemical methods were adapted to examine the expression pattern of MG(7)-Ag in 200 patients with gastric carcinoma, including 100 Tibetan patients and 100 Hans patients, 10 patients with chronic artrophic gastritis, 18 with gastric mucosal dysphasia and 10 subjects with normal gastric mucosa served as control. RESULTS: The positive rate for MG(7)-Ag was 92.4% and 88.7% in Tibetan and Han gastric carcinoma patients, 55.6% and 38.9% in Tibetan and Han gastric mucosal dysplasia patients, 20.0% and 10.0% in Tibetan and Han chronic atrophic gastritis patients, respectively. There was no positive expression in normal gastric mucosa of both Hans and Tibetans. >From normal gastric mucosa, chronic artrophic gastritis and gastric mucosal dysplasia to gastric carcinoma, expression of MG(7)-Ag showed an ascending tendency in the same group of subjects or patients (P < 0.01). However between Hans and Tibetans there was no significantly different expression of MG(7)-Ag. In gastric carcinoma, the expression pattern of MG(7)-Ag was not related to tumor cell differentiation and metastasis of lymph nodes in Hans and Tibetans (P > 0.05), but in the same group the expression of MG(7)-Ag was related to metastasis of lymph nodes. CONCLUSIONS: The expression pattern of MG(7)-Ag displayed no significant difference between Hans and Tibetans, The tumor associated antigen MG(7)-Ag in gastric carcinoma can be used in Tibetans as a reliable marker to predict early gastric cancer.