NON-NEUROLOGICAL VARIABLES AND MORTALITY OF ACUTE STROKE

Acute stroke is associated with high mortality. While this is the direct consequence of the neurological injury, stroke patients develop a number of physiological abnormalities and complications in the acute phase. Extensive research has produced a plethora of information about these non-neurological variables. Different patients have different abnormalities. Some of these variables have severe adverse effects on mortality, both acute and long term. Some of the variables are pre-existing, while others are non-modifiable. The body responds to cerebral tissue injury in a way that seems to lead to further damage to the brain and other vital systems, and patients usually have more than one variable needing attention. Acute stroke presents as a multisystem disease on the verge of multisystem failure. Although there is lack of evidence of the benefits of correcting the deranged variables, it makes clinical sense that non-neurological variables should be identified, monitored and managed, with the aim of improving the outcome of acute stroke patients.     

Mortality and lung cancer in ceramic workers in the Netherlands: Preliminary results

A retrospective cohort study in 1974 male ceramic workers in the Netherlands was carried out to analyze the lung cancer risk in relation to crystalline silica exposure and silicosis. They had all been employed for two years or longer in ceramic industries between 1972 and 1982. During a health survey, 124 cases of simple pneumoconiosis were diagnosed: after 14 years of follow-up, 161 deaths had occurred. No increased overall and cause-specific mortality was found in the total group of ceramic workers, and a statistically significant cumulative dose-response relation for silica exposure and lung cancer did not emerge. An excess lung cancer mortality appeared among workers with simple pneumoconiosis. The authors conclude that the disease process resulting in silicosis in the ceramic industry carries an increased risk of lung cancer, which is supportive of a nongenotoxic pathway. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Obesity: a growing problem

Seidell JC. Obesity: a growing problem. Acta Pædiatr 1999; Suppl 428: 46–50. Stockholm. ISSN 0803–5326
Obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or more, is common in many parts of the world, especially in the established market economies, the former socialist economies of Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Middle Eastern Crescent. As many as 250 million people worldwide may be obese (7% of the adult population) and two to three times as many may be considered overweight. The prevalence of obesity seems to be increasing in most parts of the world, even where it used to be rare. Increased fatness, measured by a high BMI, a large waist circumference or a high waist/hip circumference ratio, is associated with many chronic diseases as well as with poor physical functioning. Assessments of the prevalence of obesity, and trends in this prevalence over time, are more difficult in children than adults, due to the lack of international criteria for classifying individuals as overweight or obese. The World Health Organization has now recommended the use of BMI-for-age percentiles, but the reference curves are still under development. France, The Netherlands, the UK and the USA are among the countries that have reported recent increases in the prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents. Although there are no accurate estimates of the components of energy balance and their changes over time, the available evidence suggests that the trends in obesity rates are related more to a reduction in energy expenditure than to an increase in caloric intake. Prevention of obesity through the promotion of a healthy lifestyle is among the important challenges for the new millennium, and should start in childhood, □ Adolescents, children, epidemiology, obesity, overweight     

A clinical review of 105 patients with PFAPA (a periodic fever syndrome)

Aims: We describe the presentations and clinical outcomes of pediatric patients diagnosed with PFAPA (Periodic Fever, Aphthous lesions, Pharyngitis, and cervical Adenitis). Materials and methods: The medical records of children with recurrent fever and referred between 1998 and 2007 to a tertiary pediatric care hospital were reviewed. Children who met clinical criteria for PFAPA were then asked to participate in a follow‐up study. Results: One hundred and five children met study criteria for PFAPA which included at least six episodes of periodic fever. Most (62%) were males, the mean age at onset of PFAPA was 39.6 months (80% were <5 years at onset), the mean duration of individual fever episodes was 4.1 days, and the mean interval between episodes was 29.8 days. Accompanying signs and symptoms included aphthous stomatitis (38%), pharyngitis (85%), cervical adenitis (62%), headache (44%), vomiting with fever spikes (27%) and mild abdominal pain (41%). A prodrome (usually fatigue) preceded the fever in 62% of patients. Parents noted that when their child with PFAPA had fever, other family members remained well. Laboratory tests in patients with PFAPA were nonspecific. Individual episodes of fever usually resolved with a single oral dose (～1 mg/kg) of prednisilone. The interval between fever episodes shortened in 50% of patients who used prednisilone. PFAPA resolved spontaneously (mean length 33.2 months) in 211105 (20%) patients. PFAF’A episodes continued (mean length 23 months) at the end of this study in 661105 (63%) patients. Cimetidine therapy was associated with the resolution of the fevers in 7/26 (27%) patients; tonsillectomy was associated with the resolution of the fevers in 11/11 (100%) patients. Conclusion: PFAPA can usually be defined by its clinical characteristics. Individual febrile episodes usually resolve dramatically with oral prednisilone. The cause of PFAPA is unknown and research is needed to define its etiology. The overall prognosis for children with PFAPA is excellent.     

糙皮侧耳糖蛋白的性质及体外抗肿瘤活性研究

目的：对糙皮侧耳真菌提取液进行纯化,并对纯化组分的理化性质及体外抗肿瘤作用进行研究。方法：用离子交换、凝胶过滤进行纯化,采用ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ测定蛋白分子量,用氨基酸自动分析仪测定氨基酸的组成,通过福林酚法测定其蛋白和多糖的含量,用薄层层析确定多糖的组成,将ＰＯＧＰ直接与Ｓ１８０腹水瘤细胞及小鼠正常细胞液混合,观察其活性。结果：纯化得到对肿瘤细胞具有细胞毒作用的糖蛋白（ＰＯＧＰ）,ＳＤＳ－ＰＡＧＥ显     

血管内皮生长因子C靶向RNA干扰重组载体的构建和效应检测

目的:构建针对人血管内皮生长因子C小干扰RNA表达载体,并观察其在胃癌细胞中的干扰效果。方法:实验于2006-02/2007-02在河南省分子医学重点学科开放实验室完成。①实验材料:小干扰RNA表达载体pSilencer3.1为美国Ambion公司产品;胃癌细胞SGC7901为河南省分子医学重点学科开放实验室保存;血管内皮生长因子C基因的干扰片断和聚合酶链反应引物(152bp)由上海生工生物公司合成。②实验过程:根据pSilencer3.1-H1载体要求设计靶向血管内皮生长因子C基因的两对小干扰RNA,退火后连接入载体相应位点,构建重组表达质粒。经酶切和测序鉴定后分别转染胃癌细胞株SGC-7901,经G418筛选,获得稳定表达的细胞株。③实验评估:采用反转录-聚合酶链反应和Westernblot法检测血管内皮生长因子CmRNA和蛋白水平的表达。结果:①重组质粒的酶切、核苷酸序列分析结果:经酶切和测序鉴定证实成功构建了血管内皮生长因子C小干扰RNA表达载体,建立了稳定转染细胞株。②稳定转染的细胞株中血管内皮生长因子CmRNA和蛋白表达:反转录-聚合酶链反应和Western blot显示转染后血管内皮生长因子C表达与对照组相比有不同程度的降低,以pSilencer3.1-neo-VEGF-C1尤为明显,抑制血管内皮生长因子C表达,不影响细胞的生长。结论:成功构建了血管内皮生长因子C小干扰RNA表达载体及稳定转染的胃癌细胞株。     

微柱凝胶与聚凝胺交叉配血试验比较

1一般资料2004年受血者的血清标本,急诊受血者的血清标本用聚凝胺配血法进行交叉配血,其他受血者的血清标本用微柱凝胶配血卡进行交叉本配血,发现有阳性结果的标本再分别用微柱凝胶配血法和聚凝胺配血法进行测定.微柱凝胶配血法按照达亚美公司提供的微柱凝胶配血卡操作手册进行;聚凝胺配血法见<输血技术学>[1].在13 879例交叉配血试验中,这两种交叉试验共同出现阳性结果的有15例(表1).对这15份阳性标本用谱细胞进行抗体筛查,其中抗-c阳性的标本4例,抗-E阳性的标本4例,抗-e阳性的标本3例,抗-cE阳性的标本2例,抗-JKb阳性的标本1例,抗-Mia阳性的标本1例.     

Correction to: Coagulation in gout: is there a link with disease activity?

Clinical Rheumatology -