[A long-term follow-up study of cardiac resynchronization therapy for children with right ventricle-paced heart failure].

Objective: To evaluate the long-term effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in children with right ventricle-paced heart failure. Methods: Five children with chronically right ventricular-paced heart failure underwent operation of upgrading to CRT in Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute between July 2009 to January 2015. The first time the patients were implanted with endocardial permanent pacemaker was (11.6±4.6) years old. The New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional classification, QRS duration, left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVDd), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), standard deviation of peak systolic time of left ventricular wall (TS-SD) and follow-up data were retrospectively analyzed. Comparison between pre-and post-operation was performed using paired t test. Results: CRT significantly improved the NYHA class to Ⅰ-Ⅱdegree, reduced the QRS duration ((126±9)vs. (182±21)ms, t=-7.480, P=0.002) and the Z-score of LVDd (2.8±1.1 vs. 4.7±0.9, t=-2.880, P=0.045), and increased the LVEF (43%±10% vs. 28%±6%, t=3.350, P=0.029). No significant difference was found regarding the TS-SD ((48±17)vs. (95±41)ms, t=-2.240, P=0.090) pre- and post-CRT. The longest follow-up period was 9 years. During follow-up, 1 case died of ventricular fibrillation 2 years after upgrading, and 2 cases underwent CRT replacement due to battery depletion 7.2 years and 5.8 years after upgrading, respectively. Conclusion: CRT could be considered for children with chronically right ventricular-paced heart failure and improve heart function significantly.

Polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate alleviates high glucose-induced H9C2 cell damage through PI3K/Akt pathway.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to study the protective effect of polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on high glucose-induced oxidative damage of H9C2 cells and to investigate the relationship between this effect and phosphatidyl inositol 3 kinase-serine/threonine kinase (P13K/Akt) signal transduction pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODS: H9C2 cells were used as objects of study, 350 mM glucose serum-free medium was used as the high glucose molding condition, and LY294002 (10 µM) was used as the PI3K/Akt inhibitor. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to detect the cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay was used to detect the cytotoxicity, flow cytometry was used to detect the proportion of cell apoptosis, and Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of cell-associated proteins. RESULTS: Cell viability was reduced and cell apoptosis was increased by 350 mM high glucose. The high glucose-induced apoptosis was alleviated and the Akt expression in cells was increased by EGCG. The protective effect of EGCG was reduced after inhibition of PI3K/Akt pathway. CONCLUSIONS: EGCG protects H9C2 cells from high glucose-induced damage. EGCG plays the protective effect through inducing the PI3K/Akt pathway activation.

PDE3A is hypermethylated in cisplatin resistant non-small cell lung cancer cells and is a modulator of chemotherapy response.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate the mechanism of PDE3A downregulation in chemoresistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells, its functional role in chemotherapy response and association with survival outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The raw data of GDS5247 was downloaded from GEO datasets and reanalyzed. The expression of PDE3A in patients with NSCLC and its DNA methylation status were analyzed in NSCLC cohort in TCGA database. Cisplatin resistant A549/Cis cells and the parental A549 cells were used as the in vitro cell model. The association between PDE3A expression and overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in NSCLC patients with adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, as well as the median OS and PFS, were assessed by Kaplan-Meier curves using Kaplan-Meier plotter. RESULTS: PDE3A was significantly downregulated in chemoresistant NSCLC cells. Heat map of PDE3A expression and methylation in NSCLC patient cohort in TCGA database indicated a negative association between PDE3A expression and DNA methylation in lung adenocarcinoma. A549/Cis cells treated with 5-AZA-dC, a demethylation reagent, had significantly restored PDE3A expression. High PDE3A expression was associated with favorable OS (HR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.41-0.68, p<0.0001) and PFS (HR: 0.54, 95% CI: 0.39-0.75, p<0.001) in patients with adenocarcinoma. However, in patients with squamous cell carcinoma, high PDE3A expression was associated with unfavorable OS (HR: 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08-2.24, p=0.017) and PFS (HR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.02-3.29, p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: PDE3A is downregulated in chemoresistant NSCLC cells due to DNA hypermethylation. Enforced PDE3A expression can sensitize A549/Cis cells to cisplatin. High PDE3A expression is associated with better OS and PFS in patients with adenocarcinoma, but not in patients with squamous cell carcinoma.

Prostate cancer detection: comparison of T2-weighted imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging, and the three techniques combined.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been established as the best imaging modality for the detection, localization, and staging of prostate cancer on account of its high resolution of soft tissue and the possibilities of multiplanar and multiparameter scanning. PURPOSE: To evaluate T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), MR spectroscopy (MRS), and the combination of these three MR techniques in the diagnosis of prostate cancer, as correlated to histopathologic findings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: MR imaging, including T2WI, DWI, and MRS, was performed at 1.5T with a body coil combined with a spine coil in 42 cases. Diagnosis was confirmed by histopathology through systematic transrectal prostate biopsy. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were obtained with two b values (0 and 1000 s/mm(2)). The metabolic maps of 3D-MRS imaging were analyzed for the ratio of (Cho+Cre)/Cit in each sextant. All cases were evaluated by T2WI, DWI, and MRS, and then by the three methods combined. The statistical indicators and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis of each method were compared to the results of histopathology obtained by transrectal prostate biopsy. RESULTS: 15 of 42 cases were confirmed to be cancerous, and 27 of 42 cases were noncancerous. All the 252 sextants were confirmed by biopsies, including 201 benign sextants and 51 malignant sextants. The sensitivity and the specificity for the detection of prostate cancer were 88.2% and 67.2% for T2WI, as the cutoff was 3; 82.4% and 81.6% for DWI, as the cutoff was 4; 84.3% and 98.0% for MRS, as the cutoff was 5; and 96.1% and 96.5% for the combined T2WI+DWI+MRS, as the cutoff was 4. In the ROC analysis, the correlative areas under the ROC curves (Az) were 0.848+/-0.030, 0.860+/-0.033, and 0.961+/-0.016 for T2WI, DWI, and MRS, respectively, and 0.978+/-0.009 for the combination of T2WI+DWI+MRS. CONCLUSION: The accuracy of the detection of prostate cancer is increased through a combination of the three techniques. Moreover, MRS demonstrated higher accuracy compared with T2WI or DWI.

[Etiological diagnoses in 53 cases of pneumonia].

Secretion was taken from lower respiratory tract for bacterial culture using Japanese made single-sheath catheter brush (SSC) via fiberoptic bronchoscopy in 53 cases with community acquired pneumonia and 16 control cases without pulmonary infection. The results showed that bacteria were isolated in 42 out of the 53 patients, the organisms being pathogenic in 39 out of the 53 (73.5%). Among the bacteria isolated from the 42 cases, gram-negative bacilli accounted for the highest rate of 36% and pneumococcus the next of 31%. There were only 3 cases yielding contamination. It is shown that SSC technique has less chance of contamination and is convenient and practical.