Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease: Medical or surgical treatment? Report of an interactive workshop

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the most common disease of the upper gastrointestinal tract. With the introduction of proton pump inhibitors medical treatment of GERD has been significantly improved. However, the development of laparoscopic antireflux surgery resulted in an increasing interest of surgeons in this disease. An interactive meeting was organized in order to develop an agreement between gastoenterologists and surgeons regarding therapeutic decisions and this is the main topic of this paper.     

子宫内膜异位症及卵巢癌腹腔IL-6、IL-8变化的临床意义

目的:探讨白细胞介素6(IL-6)、白细胞介素8(IL-8)与子宫内膜异位症(endomotriosisEMs)卵巢癌的发生发展关系。方法:采用双抗体夹心ABC-酶联免疫吸附实验(ELISA)对EMs患者30例、血清及腹腔液中IL-6、IL-8进行检测,并以卵巢癌患者10例、卵巢良性肿瘤患者30例、正常妇女血清30例做对照组。结果:EMs组与卵巢癌组患者血清及腹腔液中IL-6、IL-8水平明显高于对照组(P<0.01),EMs组与卵巢癌组对比无显著性差异(P>0.05)。结论:EMs患者腹腔液中IL-6、IL-8异常增高是腹腔免疫内环境失衡,与EMs的发生发展有关,在药物治疗中血清IL-6、IL-8可作为EMs疗效和预后的指标之一。     

End-to-end oesophageal anastomosis: an experimental study in the rat

To study the effects of suture material, calibre and tension on the end-to-end oesophageal anastomosis, the cervical oesophagus of the rat was resected for 2.5 mm, 7.5 mm and 12.5 mm respectively in three groups of 60 rats each. End-to-end anastomosis was performed with either 6/0 silk, 6/0 polypropylene or 9/0 polypropylene sutures. There was no postoperative leakage. Mortality was mainly due to hair bolus obstruction at the site of anastomosis. There was no difference in mortality and anastomotic stenosis between groups with different resection lengths. Within each group, however, mortality and anastomotic stenosis were significantly higher in the subgroup of rats with 6/0 silk suture than that in the subgroup with 6/0 polypropylene sutures, which also had significantly higher mortality and anastomotic stenosis than the subgroup with 9/0 polypropylene sutures. Histological examination of the stenosed anastomosis showed disruption of muscle layers and submucosal thickening. It is concluded that the use of fine calibre sutures of biologically inert material would be preferred for the end-to-end anastomosis of the oesophagus.     

阿昔洛韦对单纯疱疹病毒脑炎小鼠脑细胞的保护作用

目的 了解单纯疱疹病毒脑炎(HSE)脑细胞结构的改变及药物的影响。方法 采用光学显微镜及透射电子显微镜观察HSE小鼠脑细胞结构的变化，并给予阿昔洛韦(ACV)及地塞米松(DEX)治疗，观察治疗后脑细胞结构的变化。结果 HSE小鼠脑神经细胞明显肿胀，核仁固缩，核内结构破坏，线粒体及高尔基体可见空泡样变性，核仁内可见病毒颗粒。用药物干预的小鼠脑神经细胞改变较轻微，未找到病毒颗粒；与单用ACV干预的小鼠相比，用ACV DEX干预的小鼠脑神经细胞及毛细血管周围水肿明显减轻。结论 HSE早期给予ACV DEX治疗，对HSE脑细胞结构有明显保护作用。     

The path to care in autism: Is it better now?

Parents of children with autism often report problems associated with obtaining a diagnosis of their child's condition, family support, information, and appropriate services. To evaluate any changes in the situation over the last two decades, the families of all members of the West Midlands Autistic Society, age 19 years and below, were asked to fill in a questionnaire that covered aspects of detection, diagnosis, help and information received, and educational provision. Responses were obtained from 127 families, the children of whom formed an older group ages 10 years and above (n=67) and a younger group ages 9 years and below (n=61). Findings show that there have been improvements for the younger group in some areas, such as earlier referral, diagnosis, and statementing. However, the situation with respect to advice given by professionals and the support and provision available after referral is still much the same as that experienced by families of the older group of children. Many difficulties and hurdles remain which hinder parents and children on the path to care in autism.     

术前无创正压通气治疗对脊柱侧凸患者围手术期肺功能的影响

目的:研究术前使用呼吸机无创正压通气治疗对脊柱侧凸患者围手术期肺功能的影响。方法:将40例Cobb角≥60°、肺功能存在中度以上限制性通气功能障碍、行脊柱侧凸矫形术的脊柱侧凸患者,随机分成A组和B组,每组20例。A组在术前采用BiPAP呼吸机,经用面罩无创正压通气(NIPPV)治疗1个月;B组常规术前准备。观察A组患者治疗前后肺功能的改善及两组患者围手术期肺功能的差异。结果:两组患者性别、年龄、身高、体重、Cobb角度、手术时间、手术径路、融合椎体数等基本情况比较无统计学差异(P>0.05);A组患者经NIPPV治疗后肺活量(VC)、肺活量占预计值的百分比(VC%)、用力肺活量(FVC)、第一秒最大呼气量(FEV1.0)、最大通气量(MVV)和最大通气量占预计值的百分比(MVV%)较治疗前明显改善(P<0.01);两组患者术中氧合指数、术后拔管时间、拔管后15min动脉血气PO2、PCO2比较有显著性差异(P<0.05)。结论:术前无创正压通气治疗可改善脊柱侧凸患者围手术期的肺功能,可缩短手术后气管插管的拔管时间,改善术后通气功能,有助于脊柱侧凸患者手术后早期恢复。     

The different effects of Helicobacter pylori strains on basal and histamine-stimulated acid and pepsin production: An in vitro study

Inflammation Research -     

Reflex tear ascorbate in Hong Kong Chinese subjects: method comparison and biological variation.

BACKGROUND: Tear ascorbate is important for corneal health. A rapid and simple method for measurement of ascorbate in tears is needed, and adequate knowledge of physiological variation of tear ascorbate is important to facilitate comparative studies of the effect of, for example, contact lens wear and environmental conditions and stresses. However, there are currently no data on physiological variation of tear ascorbate. This study validated a simple and speedy method for tear ascorbate and investigated between-eye and between-day variation in tear ascorbate in healthy young adults. METHODS: Yawn-induced reflex tears were collected from 32 healthy Hong Kong Chinese subjects and measured by both high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and by an enzyme-linked colorimetric method known as FRASC (total ferric reducing (antioxidant) activity and ascorbate concentration measurement). For between-eye variation, yawn reflex tears were collected from each eye of the same 32 healthy subjects, and ascorbate was measured using HPLC; in a separate experiment for between-day variation, tears were collected on two separate days from 14 subjects, and ascorbate was measured by FRASC. RESULTS: Both HPLC and FRASC showed high precision, and results obtained using FRASC were not statistically different from those using HPLC; mean +/- SD were, respectively, 18.5 +/- 4.4 microM and 18.5 +/- 4.8 microM for HPLC and FRASC methods (p = 0.943). No significant between-eye difference in tear ascorbate was found (p = 0.386), and no significant between-day variation was found overall: mean +/- SD ascorbate was 20.0 +/- 6.2 microM on day 1 and 19.3 +/- 6.8 microM on day 2 (p = 0.772). However, between-day variation was large in seven of 14 subjects. CONCLUSION: FRASC is an acceptable alternative to HPLC for measurement of tear ascorbate. Tears for ascorbate investigation can be collected from either eye or, if necessary, from both eyes and pooled. However, tear ascorbate may vary widely from day to day in the same individual. The reasons for this variation require further study but may relate to differences in ascorbate supply or demand within the precorneal tear layer.