Percutaneous transhepatic placement of biliary endoprostheses: results in 100 consecutive patients.

One hundred patients with malignant biliary obstruction underwent palliative therapy by means of percutaneous transhepatic placement of 114 biliary endoprostheses. All patients were then followed up for at least 18 months or until death. Retrospective evaluation of the 95 patients who died showed an average survival time of 5.0 months. The five remaining patients have survived an average of 29.8 months. During the 1st week after stent insertion, a second manipulation was performed to improve stent function in nine patients. Overall, 14 (12.3%) of the stents became obstructed and six (5.2%) migrated; 86 patients required no further therapy for biliary obstruction or stent malfunction. The 30-day mortality rate was 12%; none of the deaths were directly attributable to a complication of the stent placement procedure.     

Relationship of prediagnostic serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate to the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer.

Dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate are steroids which may be associated with the development of breast cancer. To examine the association between serum levels of dehydroepiandrosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and the risk of developing premenopausal breast cancer, we measured hormone levels in 15 women who donated blood to a community-based serum bank in 1974 and who subsequently developed premenopausal breast cancer and in 29 matched controls from the same group of volunteers. The mean serum level of dehydroepiandrosterone among cases was 10% lower than among controls. The risk of developing breast cancer for women in the highest tertile compared with the lowest tertile of serum dehydroepiandrosterone was 0.40 with a suggestion of a dose-response trend with increasing levels. No consistent association between dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate and the risk of premenopausal breast cancer was evident. In contrast to postmenopausal breast cancer, a protective effect of dehydroepiandrosterone against premenopausal breast cancer is suggested, but because of the small sample size, the results of this study need to be replicated by others.     

Factors affecting patency of internal thoracic artery graft: clinical and angiographic study in 1434 symptomatic patients operated between 1982 and 2002.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose is to define factors influencing long-term patency of the internal thoracic artery (ITA) to optimize the operative strategy. METHODS: 1482 left internal thoracic artery (LITA) and 636 right internal thoracic artery (RITA) symptom-directed angiograms were studied in 1434 patients. Data were prospectively collected from patients who had primary coronary artery bypass surgery during the period 1982-2002. The mean age of patients was 59 years; 85% were male. The mean period from operation to re-angiogram was 80 months. LITA was grafted to left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) in 82% of cases, RITA to right coronary artery (RCA) in 40% and circumflex artery in 35% of cases. Graft failure was defined as > or =80% stenosis. RESULTS: 96.3% of LITA and 88.1% of RITA grafts were patent. No patient variables were significantly associated with graft patency (age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, LVEF, NYHA, AMI). Target coronary artery was associated with patency of both LITA and RITA grafts with maximum patency when grafted to LAD (P = 0.02) RITA had the worst patency to RCA, patency for the left system was identical to LITA. Proximal anastomosis to aorta (free RITA) had significantly better patency when compared with in situ RITA to RCA system (P = 0.005) while similar patency when grafted to left system. ITA diameter and target artery diameter were not associated with graft patency. Recent operations had better RITA patency (P = 0.03). The interval from operation to angiogram was not associated with ITA patency (96% patency for LITA and 88% patency for RITA, remained stable when studied at <1, 1-4, 5-9, 10-14 and >15 years). CONCLUSIONS: Even in a patient cohort that had adverse symptoms, excellent LITA and RITA patency was achieved which almost remained constant through all time intervals studied.     

乌司他丁对严重烧伤患者伤后早期心肌损害的防治作用

目的观察乌司他丁（UTI）对烧伤“休克心”的防治作用，探讨其可能的机制。方法选择笔者单位收治的伤后24h内入院、烧伤面积〉50％TBsA的34例特重度烧伤患者，分为烧伤组和UTI治疗组，每组17例。两组患者均进行常规治疗，且UTI治疗组患者入院后立即给予UTI10万U静脉滴注，3次／d，连续7d。于两组患者伤后2、4、7d采血，检测其血浆中性粒细胞弹性蛋白酶（PMN elastase）、心肌肌钙蛋白I（cTnI）含量和心肌型肌酸激酶同工酶（CK—MB）活性，以公认的各指标正常值作参考，并对3项指标进行相关性分析。结果（1）伤后2、4、7d，两组患者血浆PMN elastase及cTnI含量均显著高于正常值（P〈0．01）；UTI治疗组与烧伤组比较，两指标偏低。（2）与正常值比较，伤后2、4、7d烧伤组患者CK—MB活性明显升高（P〈0．01），第4天达高峰；UTI治疗组伤后2、4d CK—MB活性明显高于正常值（P〈0．05或0．01），但与烧伤组比较升幅较小，第7天降至正常值水平（P〉0．05）。（3）34例烧伤患者PMN elastase、cTnI含量及CK—MB活性三者间均呈现显著正相关，前两者的相关系数为0．904，后两者的相关系数为0．922，PMN elastase含量与CK-MB活性的相关系数为0．829（均为P〈0．01）。结论UTI能够显著减轻严重烧伤患者心肌损害的程度，有效抑制PMN elastase的过度释放。     

视蛋白基因启动子的克隆和鉴定

目的 克隆出视蛋白基因启动子。方法 以小鼠全基因组为模板，用PCR法克隆出目的大小的片断。然后连接到T-载体上作酶切鉴定，最后测序。结果 酶切结果与预期相符，测序结果与公布序列完全一致。结论 视蛋白基因启动子克隆成功。     

Cognitive rehabilitation in the elderly: overview and future directions.

This study provides an overview of the papers emanating from the experimental trial that evaluated a new cognitive rehabilitation program in older adults who were experiencing normal cognitive decline. The main features of the design are summarized, along with evidence that the training produced long-lasting improvement in memory performance, goal management, and psychosocial status. The benefits were attributed to several factors, including the program's emphasis on techniques that promoted efficient strategic processing. Limitations of the program and directions for future research are discussed.     

原发性十二指肠腺癌影像诊断及手术切除相关影像征象的探讨

目的：探讨原发性十二指肠腺癌的影像表现及与手术切除相关征象。方法：对照手术回顾性分析17例经病理证实的十二指肠腺癌低张十二指肠造影(hypotonic duodenography，HD)和CT的表现。结果：HD显示息肉型9例，溃疡型7例，浸润型1例。CT均示腔内不规则肿块或肠壁增厚，3例示溃疡，胆系扩张10例，胰头浸润14例，血管浸润7例，淋巴结转移3例，肝转移2例。7例行根治术，10例行姑息术。结论：HD与CT结合可充分显示腔内病变，腔外浸润及转移。癌肿局限于腔内或仅侵犯胰头时可行根治术；侵犯周围重要血管，发生淋巴结、肠系膜及肝脏等转移时一般只能行姑息术。