Early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma: radiotherapy dose and time factors in tumor control

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate radiotherapy dose and length of treatment in the control of early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with a combination of external radiotherapy and brachytherapy, MATERIALS & METHODS: We reviewed the records of 133 patients with early stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma (stage I or II, AJC/UICC staging system) who received definitive radiotherapy in Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 1979 to 1991. The median follow-up time was 7.1 years with a minimum of 2 years. All patients were treated with megavoltage external radiotherapy to the nasopharynx area (63-72 Gy) followed by high dose rate intracavitary brachytherapy (5-16.5 Gy in one to three fractions, spaced 1-2 weeks apart). The median total dose and time of irradiation was 75 Gy (69.8-81.4 Gy) and 11.6 weeks (7.8-20 weeks) respectively. Survival analysis was used to examine the effect of several variables on prognosis. RESULTS: The 5-year rates were 86.4% for local control, 84.7% for disease free survival, 88.5% for actuarial survival and 84.2% for overall survival. The treatment group (combination of time and dose of irradiation) was the most important prognostic factor according to Cox's proportional hazard model. Patients receiving radiation at a total dose of < or = 75 Gy completed in < 12 weeks showed the best prognosis. CONCLUSION: Treatment time and total treatment dose are both important factors in treating early stage NPC. Decreasing the total radiation time to < 12 weeks and not exceeding a radiation dose of 75 Gy gave the best results.      

安宫牛黄丸中小檗碱的HPLC法测定

本文报道用HPLC法测定黄连及含黄连中成药安宫牛黄丸中小檗碱型生物碱。实验结果表明选用硅胶柱为固定相,以醋酸乙酯—甲酸—乙醇(15:3:2)为流动相,能使样品中四种小檗碱型的生物碱获得最佳分离。用此法测得不同厂家生产的安宫牛黄丸中盐酸小檗碱的含量为0.331～0.456%,平均回收率为97.23%,变异系数为1.2%。     

大丁草中抗菌活性成分的研究Ⅳ

从秋季采收的菊科植物大丁草Gerbera anandria(L.)Sch Bip.全草中共分出十三种成分。本文报道其中三个新化合物的结构鉴定.它们分别是3,8-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-coumarin(ⅪⅩ),3,8-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-2-oxo-2 H-1-benzopyran-5-carboxylic acid(ⅩⅦ),和5,8-dihydroxy-7-(4-hydroxy-5-methyl-coumarin-3-)-coumarin(ⅩⅪ)。     

硫酸多糖对体外人脐静脉内皮细胞损伤的保护作用

研究表明,硫酸多糖体外对多聚阳离子和氧自由基损伤的人脐静脉内皮细胞有保护作用。肝素、硫酸软骨素A抗多聚阳离子损伤作用比同浓度低分子肝素和甘糖酯强。肝素、硫酸软骨素A、甘糖酯抗氧自由基损伤作用优于同浓度低分子肝素。结果显示硫酸多糖有保护血管内皮的作用,其作用可能与所带阴离子基团有关。     

涂圈压电传感器提取频移法测定微量麻黄碱及其在制剂分析中的应用

麻黄碱在受热时可挥发,在蒸除提取溶剂时相随挥发损失,不能用常规的提取重量法测定。使用本室新近研制的涂圈压电传感器作为超微量质量敏感元件,取常规提取重量法的基本原理,并加以改进,可以实现麻黄碱的快速分析,从而扩大该经典方法的应用范围。本法可测定低至亚μg级的麻黄碱,具有方法简便、灵敏度高等优点。     

Regeneration of dendritic cells in aged mice

Age-related thymic involution causes a decreased output of thymocytes from the thymus, thereby resulting in impairment of T cell-mediated immunity. While alterations in the T cell and non-haematopoietic stromal compartments have been described, the effects of thymic involution on thymic dendritic cells (DC) are not clearly known. Thymic DC play an essential role in shaping T cell-mediated immune responses by deleting self-reactive thymocytes to establish central tolerance and by inducing regulatory T-cell (Treg) development. It is therefore important to assess the prevalence of and alterations to thymic DC with age, as this may impact on their function. We assessed the numbers and proportions of the three distinct subsets of thymic DC in ageing mice, and showed that these subsets are differentially regulated. This is expected as thymic DC subsets have different origins of development. We further assessed the responses of thymic DC in a regenerative environment, such as that induced by sex-steroid ablation (SSA), and clearly showed that, consistent with global thymus regrowth, all three DC populations increased in numbers and regained their relative proportions to thymocytes after an initial lag period. These findings are important for the clinical translation of thymic regenerative approaches, and indicate that SSA facilitates the maintenance of critical processes such as negative selection and Treg induction through promoting thymic DC regeneration.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of calcaneal aneurysmal bone cyst

A 7-year-old black male presented with a lytic, expansile lesion of the calcaneus. This lesion was studied with conventional x-rays as well as MRI. The MR examination demonstrated a multiloculated lesion with material of a high- and low-signal intensity appreciated within each loculation. Pathologic review of the lesion demonstrated an aneurysmal bone cyst.