Effect of nickel chloride on body temperature and behavioral thermoregulation in the rat

This study was designed to assess the effects of acute nickel chloride administration on behavioral and autonomic thermoregulation in the rat. In one experiment, male rats of the Fischer 344 strain were injected with nickel chloride (IP) at dosages of 0 to 24.0 mg/kg and placed in an environmental chamber maintained at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 10 or 20 degrees C. Colonic temperature was measured 60 min postinjection. Nickel chloride caused a dose-related decrease in colonic temperature, and the hypothermia was accentuated at the cooler Ta. In a second study, rats injected with 0, 6.0, 12.0, or 24.0 mg/kg nickel chloride were placed in a temperature gradient which allowed the rats to select their preferred thermal environment. Nickel chloride at dosages of 12.0 and 24.0 mg/kg caused a significant reduction in the selected Ta. At these dosages the rats were also significantly hypothermic at 60 min postinjection. In a third experiment, whole-body oxygen consumption (i.e., metabolic rate) was measured at Ta's of 10, 20, and 30 degrees C following a 12.0 mg/kg injection of nickel chloride. Nickel chloride caused an initial depression in metabolic rate and hypothermia at Ta's of 10 and 20 degrees C but not at 30 degrees C. In conclusion, (a) nickel chloride affects both behavioral and autonomic control of thermoregulation in the rat and appears to induce a regulated decrease in body temperature and (b) the behavioral thermoregulatory response of the rat is less sensitive to nickel chloride when compared to the mouse.     

64排螺旋CT冠状动脉造影与DSA的对照研究

目的:通过和冠脉造影对比,评价64排螺旋CT冠状动脉成像在冠状动脉狭窄中的临床应用价值。方法:28例患者同时行64排螺旋CT冠状动脉成像和有创性冠脉造影检查,依据AHA17段分段法,评价所有有效节段,并将两者进行对比。结果:冠脉造影显示阴性病例占7.1%(2例),单只病变占21.4%(6例),多支病变占71.4%(20例)。按节段分析,CT检出冠脉狭窄的敏感度,特异度,阳性预测值和阴性预测值分别为91.1%,94.6%,90.0和95.3%。结论:64排螺旋CT冠状动脉成像和传统的冠脉造影检查对检出正常冠脉节段以及狭窄节段具有很好的一致性。     

Utility of the dexamethasone suppression test in the diagnosis of poststroke depression.

The utility of the dexamethasone suppression test (DST) in the diagnosis of depression was examined in an outpatient sample of 29 stroke patients. Results indicated that the DST's sensitivity was 15%, its specificity was 67%, and its positive predictive value was 48%. These findings suggest that the DST yields no more information than would be gained from random assignment of the diagnosis of depression. Therefore, it is not a useful measure of mood in these patients.     

Role of immediate versus delayed nephrectomy for failed renal transplants

The role of timing of transplant nephrectomy after renal transplantation has not been well defined. This report compares the morbidity, mortality, and hospitalization costs of 37 patients undergoing transplant nephrectomy within 14 days after graft failure and return to dialysis, with 31 patients undergoing delayed transplant nephrectomy (less than 14 days after graft failure and return to dialysis). This analysis revealed that there were no significant (P greater than .05) differences in patient morbidity and mortality between these groups. There was, however, a substantial increase (P less than .05) in the cost of hospitalization in the delayed nephrectomy group. For this reason, we recommend early nephrectomy after renal transplant failure in order to minimize the cost of health care for these patients undergoing failed cadaver donor transplant nephrectomy.     

Molecular determinants of cetuximab efficacy.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether mRNA expression levels of cyclin D1 (CCND1), cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), interleukin 8 (IL-8), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), all members of the EGFR signaling pathway, are associated with clinical outcome in patients with EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with cetuximab. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with metastatic CRC, refractory to both irinotecan and oxaliplatin, were enrolled on IMCL-0144 and treated with single-agent cetuximab. The intratumoral mRNA levels of CCND1, Cox-2, EGFR, IL-8, and VEGF were assessed from paraffin-embedded tissue samples using laser-capture microdissection and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: There were 21 women and 18 men with a median age of 64 years (range, 35 to 83 years). Higher gene expression levels of VEGF were associated with resistance to cetuximab (P = .038; Kruskal-Wallis test). The combination of low gene expression levels of Cox-2, EGFR, and IL-8 was significantly associated with overall survival (13.5 v 2.3 months; P = .028; log-rank test). Both findings were independent of skin toxicity that was itself significantly correlated to survival. Patients with a lower mRNA amount of EGFR had a longer overall survival compared with patients that had a higher mRNA amount (7.3 v 2.2 months; P = .09; log-rank test). Patients with lower expression of Cox-2 had a significantly higher rate of grade 2 to 3 skin reactions under cetuximab treatment. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that gene expression levels of Cox-2, EGFR, IL-8, and VEGF in patients with metastatic CRC may be useful markers of clinical outcome in single-agent cetuximab treatment.     

胃癌腹腔冲洗液多巴脱羧酶mRNA的检测

目的：通过检测胃癌腹腔冲洗液中DDCmRNA的表达，探讨多巴胶羟酶（DDC）与胃癌腹膜转移的关系，并为胃癌腹膜转移预测和亚临床转移的筛检提供新的方法．方法：用RNA提取和RT-PCR方法检测92例胃癌腹腔冲洗液中DDCmRNA的表达，同时做腹腔冲洗细胞学（PLC）检查；10例良性疾病的腹腔冲洗液作为阴性对照，结果：92例胃癌腹腔冲洗液中有57例检测到DDCmRNA的表达（62．0％），其表达阳性率与胃癌腹膜转移的PS因素密切相关（P〈0．05）；且胃癌腹腔冲洗液中DDCmRNA的表达水平还与胃癌浸润深度、浆膜类型、PLC检查结果以及是否存在肉眼腹膜转移有关，浸润深度深、浆膜受侵程度重、PLC检查结果阳性及存在肉眼腹膜转移病灶者的DDCmRNA表达相对值明显升高（P〈0．05）；而10例良性疾病腹腔冲洗液均未检测到DDCmRNA的表达．结论：胃癌腹腔液中DDCmRNA的表达与胃癌腹膜转移密切相关，通过RT—PCR来检测DDCmRNA适用于胃癌腹膜转移的预测和亚临床转移的筛检。     

三氧化二砷纳米微粒对抑制兔血管平滑肌细胞增殖作用的实验研究

目的 了解纳米微粒与普通剂型的三氧化二砷（As2O3）对抑制体外培养的兔血管平滑肌细胞（VSMC）增殖作用的差别。方法 对照组为不加药物的细胞，实验组为3μmol／L纳米微粒和普通剂型的As2O3，干预体外培养的兔VSMC细胞72h，进行四唑氮盐（MTT）染色测定细胞吸光度（A）值。用流式细胞仪检测细胞凋亡情况，提取细胞DNA，进行凝胶电泳分析，将3组的结果进行比较。结果 3μmol／L纳米剂型的As2O3，干预细胞，细胞数量随作用时间的延长逐渐减少，细胞生长明显受抑制，而普通剂型干预细胞，生长受抑制程度较纳米剂型弱。24h时，对照组、3μmol／L普通剂型组与纳米组，A值分别为0．68±0．10、0．58±0．12、0．33±0．12，48h时分别为0．79±0．11、0．48±0．14、0．28±0．11，72h时分别为0．96±0．13、0．34±0．15、0．20士0．06，差异均有统计学意义（Ⅳ值分别为10．934、15．039、15．539，P值均〈0．01）。流式细胞仪检测，纳米剂型As2O3、普通剂型As2O3干预及对照组的细胞干预48h，细胞增殖率分别为44．97％、58．54％、74．02％，早期凋亡率分别为16．89％、11．27％、11．20％，晚期凋亡率分别为26．56％、23．60％、12．46％，坏死细胞分别为11．58％、6．59％、2．32％。DNA电泳，As2O3干预细胞，可见凋亡梯形条带，部分细胞坏死，呈模糊的无间隔片状条带。纳米剂型药物作用的细胞DNA条带，梯形条带更多、更模糊。结论 As2O3，可以抑制体外培养的VSMC增殖，且纳米剂型As2O3较普通剂型的As2O3，对细胞抑制作用更强。     

鼻咽癌CT灌注成像及其生物学相关性研究

目的研究鼻咽癌CT灌注值与肿瘤微血管密度（MVD）、肿瘤分期的关系，探讨多层螺旋CT灌注成像对鼻咽癌的临床应用价值。方法49例鼻咽部CT灌注检查中，鼻咽癌组30例，鼻咽癌放疗后组14例，正常鼻咽部5例，测量鼻咽癌和鼻咽黏膜位置的血流量（BF）、最大强化指数（PEI）、峰值到达时间（TTP）及血容量（BV）作为灌注指标，其中16例鼻咽癌活检组织行免疫组织化学CD34单抗染色后，Weidner方法计数MVD。各组灌注值比较行方差分析，CT灌注值、肿瘤分期与MVD之间行Spearman等级相关分析。结果49例中1例鼻咽癌灌注检查失败。鼻咽癌组（29例）肿瘤CT灌注值BF为（48．6±16．9）ml·100g^-1·min^-1，PEI为（32．3±7．9）HU，TTP为（17．5±4．9）s，BV为（12．8±4．4）ml·100g^-1；正常对照组（5例）BF、PEI、TTP、BV值分别为（15．9±5．9）ml·100g^-1·min^-1、（12.6±1．3）HU、（22．6±6．9）s、（3．5±0．5）ml·100g^-1；鼻咽癌放疗后组（14例）BF、PEI、TTP、BV值分别为（25．2±7．0）ml·100g^-1·min^-1、（19．8±5．9）HU、（22．6±4．3）s、（6．1±2．4）ml·100g^-1，三组各灌注值差异有统计学意义（P值均〈0．01）；相关分析显示，鼻咽癌组（29例）中TNM分期（其中Ⅰ期3例，Ⅱ期9例，Ⅲ期10例，Ⅳ期7例）与PEI和BV存在相关性（r值分别为0．48和0．50），与BF和TTP无明显相关性（r值分别为0．23和0．22）；16例鼻咽癌MVD为（30．8±12．6）个／高倍镜视野，与其BF（51．4±17．0）ml·100g^-1·min^-1、PEI（33．2±9．6）HU和TTP（16．3±4．1）8存在相关性（r值分别为0．85、0．60和0．78），与BV（13．2±5．6）ml·100g^-1弱相关（r=0．48）。结论鼻咽癌有着特征的CT灌注表现，多层螺旋CT灌注成像的灌注值可以反映鼻咽癌微血管密度特征，PEI和BV值与鼻咽癌的TNM分期存在一定的相关性。     

搞好"病原生物学"教学及促进学科发展的实践与体会

将“医学微生物学”和“人体寄生虫学”整合为“病原生物学”符合现代医学教育的取向。中国医科大学是将两个教研室从形式到实质性合并为“病原生物学”教研室，并且将两门课完全融合成一门课程和一套教师队伍进行教学的少数院校之一。本文总结了在这一新学科教学和促进学科发展中的经验和体会。