Time-dependence of urinary neopterin, a marker of cellular immune activity

Neopterin, a marker of cellular immune system activation, is produced by human macrophages after induction by interferon gamma (secreted by T-lymphocytes) and is eliminated mostly in urine. We have documented the circadian rhythm of urinary neopterin in five healthy young men (about 25 years old), using voidings collected during 48 h at fixed 4-h intervals. We repeated the experiment three times, one week apart. Neopterin was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). We clearly show a peak of the excretion of neopterin in the early morning (around 0630 hours +/- 2 h), with total variability (peak-trough difference) reaching 51%. Neopterin is commonly assayed in urinary fractions, so it is imperative to use urine specimens collected at the same time of day--e.g., the first morning urines--to avoid misinterpretation in follow-up of patients.     

1998-2003年北京地区重症加强治疗病房急性呼吸窘迫综合征的临床流行病学调查

目的调查北京地区重症加强治疗病房(ICU)中急性呼吸窘迫综合征(ARDS)的发病情况、原发病、病死率及其影响因素。方法根据1994年欧美ARDS联席会议提出的ARDS诊断标准,回顾性调查1998年5月—2003年4月北京地区8家三级综合医院ICU中ARDS患者的病因、病死率及影响因素。结果383例ARDS患者占同期ICU收治危重患者的4．5%;脓毒症(21．7%)、肺炎(16．2%)、大手术(13．1%)、重症胰腺炎(12．8%)及多发性创伤(10．7%)是最常见的原发病;ARDS起病距原发病时间为(61．8±43．7)h。ARDS总病死率为52．0%,对病死率分别以年龄(≤39、40～64、≥65岁)、性别(男)进行调整,调整前后的病死率差异均有显著性(P均＜0．05),对急性生理学与慢性健康状况评分系统Ⅱ评分(APACHEⅡ,≤12、13～19、≥20分)进行调整后的病死率5年间差异均无显著性。脓毒性休克(36．2%)与心功能衰竭(20．6%)是主要死亡原因,仅14．6%患者死于呼吸衰竭。结论ARDS是北京地区ICU中常见危重症,死亡率仍较高,且近年来并未下降。     

丙烯酰胺急性中毒的临床分型探讨

目的:探讨丙烯酸胺急性中毒临床分型的新方法.方法:本文根据3例急性中毒致死(其中1例尸检进行了病理组织学及电镜观测),1例中毒后致残的情况进行了讨论,也对急性中毒的临床与死亡特征作了介绍.结果:在上述基础上,提出临床分型的意见及其与预后之间的关系.结论:丙烯酰胺急性中毒的临床分型新方法可供拟订丙烯酰胺急性中毒临床诊断标准、分型时参考.     

Prevalence of magnesium and potassium deficiencies in the elderly

Concentrations of magnesium and potassium in erythrocytes and plasma were determined in a population of 381 unselected elderly men and women, most of them in their eighties. The effects of biological factors (age, sex, weight) and a large set of pathological conditions, malignant or not, were examined. Analyses of variance showed a relation between age and concentrations of plasma potassium and between weight and concentrations of plasma magnesium. The chi-square test showed correlations between low concentrations of plasma magnesium and diabetes, abuse of alcohol and tobacco, and also between low values for erythrocyte magnesium and hypertension. Low values for plasma potassium were correlated with hypertension whereas high values were correlated with cardiovascular disease. Although some of the differences in the mean concentrations observed were statistically significant, these differences were always small. Most interesting was the distribution of the concentrations of the cations. This study shows that assays of both of these cations in erythrocytes were better than assays in plasma to evidence a deficiency. Indeed, about 20% of the studied population had low concentrations of both erythrocyte potassium and magnesium, whereas 2 and 10% had low values for plasma potassium and magnesium, respectively. This study underlines the large prevalence of magnesium and potassium deficiencies in the elderly, an observation we could not attribute to pathology or treatment. Routine electrolyte studies therefore appear to be justified in aged human subjects.     

用现代管理理念营造健康“绿洲”——访乌海市人民医院院长郭岩

初到乌海,这座"沙漠绿洲"对郭岩来说有些陌生,但在医院工作了20多年的他对这里医院的领导工作却能快速进入角色。在2008年初任乌海市人民医院院长的一个多月时间里,他先认真了解了医院的情况,与大家沟通交流,之后立足于医院实际梳理思路,为今后的主要工作定出清晰的计划和明确的目标。     

Nomenclature for factors of the HLA system, update May 2009

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related gene A ( MICA ) is located 46 kb centromeric to HLA-B locus and encodes a stress-inducible protein. MICA allelic variation is thought to be associated with disease susceptibility and immune response to transplants. In this study, polymerase chain reaction sequence-based typing (PCR-SBT) method for MICA alleles has been established. Genomic DNAs from 100 healthy Chinese Han individuals were typed for MICA alleles by this method. The microsatellite polymorphism in the exon 5 of MICA gene, MICA * Del allele, and human leukocyte antigen-B alleles was also detected by the polymerase chain reaction–GeneScan, polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer, and PCR-SBT methods, respectively. Fourteen MICA alleles were found in the population, with MICA * 00801/04 having the highest frequency of 27.0%. MICA * A4 , * A5 , * A5.1 , * A6 , and * A9 microsatellites were identified. Two samples with HLA-B * 4801 were MICA * Del positive, with the frequency of 1.0%. The data showed that the new PCR-SBT method for MICA alleles was reliable and Chinese Han population was distinct in distribution of MICA alleles.     

羊城举办第六届中国癌症康复与姑息医学大会

From December 17th-19th, 2010, the 6th Conference of Chinese Cancer Rehabilitation and Palliative Care was held in Guangzhou. It has been 20 years since the Chinese     

miR-34a靶向调控Akt/Bcl-2对乳腺癌细胞多柔比星耐药性的影响

目的：探讨miR-34a通过下调AKT/BCL2信号通路对乳腺癌细胞多柔比星耐药性的影响及其分子机制?方法：通过实时定量PCR法检测miR-34a-3p在乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7）和乳腺耐药细胞株（MCF-7/ADR）中的表达,并成功构建miR-34a mimics/inhibitor调控其表达水平;通过CCK8法分别筛选多柔比星处理MCF-7及MCF-7/ADR细胞的IC50值并处理细胞;使用CCK8,流式细胞技术以及免疫印迹实验验证在miR-34a过表达及干扰组中,乳腺癌细胞存活率,凋亡细胞百分比以及AKT/BCL2信号通路的改变。结果：miR-34a在MCF-7/ADR中的表达显著低MCF-7细胞,同时成功构建miR-34a过表达及敲减模型;多柔比星处理MCF-7及MCF-7/ADR细胞的IC50分别为0.89 μg/mL、13.61 μg/mL。当MCF-7及MCF-7/ADR细胞中miR-34a表达水平降低时,经多柔比星处理后,细胞存活率显著升高（P<0.05）,凋亡细胞比例显著减少（P<0.01）,同时下游AKT/BCL2信号表达上调（P<0.01）。而当MCF-7/ADR细胞中miR-34a表达升高时相应的观察到相反的细胞表型。结论：miR-34a在乳腺癌细胞中的表达下调,可能通过减少对AKT/BCL2信号的负向调控,减少细胞凋亡,进而增强细胞对多柔比星的耐药性。