DIFFUSE IDIOPATHIC SKELETAL HYPEROSTOSIS (DISH) OF THE SPINE: A CAUSE OF BACK PAIN? A CONTROLLED STUDY

This is the first controlled study of the frequency of backpain in a European caucasian population with diffuse idiopathicskeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Elderly patients admitted to hospital for reasons other thanback pain were assessed for the presence of spinal DISH usingthe routine lateral chest radiograph films. A total of 106 probands(82 males, 24 females) with a mean age of 70 years fulfilledthe criteria for DISH as defined previously. One hundred andseventyeight patients (117 males, 61 females) not meeting thesecriteria were used as controls. The prevalence of back painwas assessed by a blinded interviewer using a structured questionnaire.Our primary hymthesis was that spinal DISH positive probandshad not had back pain more often than controls. The controlledstudy showed no statistically significant difference in painfrequency between spinal DISH positive probands and controlsat any spinal level. We conclude that back pain does not occur more often in radiographicallydefined DISH positive probands than in controls. The radiologicalfinding of spinal DISH, as far as it does not lead to stenosisof the spinal canal or dysphagia, thus seems to be a findingwithout clinical relevance. KEY WORDS: Spine, Radiographs, Pain, Osteoarthritis, Forestier's disease, Ankylosing vertebral hyperostosis     

差速贴壁技术对大鼠脑皮质星形胶质细胞纯化率的影响

目的:观察差速贴壁技术对星形胶质细胞纯化率的影响,旨在建立一套可靠的大鼠脑皮质星形胶质细胞的取材分离、纯化培养技术。方法:实验于2006-06/08在泰山医学院生命科学研究所完成。实验材料:出生2～3d的Wistar大鼠,雌雄不拘,由泰山医学院生命科学研究所实验动物中心提供。实验方法:选用出生二三天的Wistar大鼠进行脑皮质星形胶质细胞原代培养。实验分两组培养:常规培养组和差速贴壁培养组。差速贴壁培养组分别于15,30min取出,轻轻翻转培养瓶,将上清液移至另一培养瓶中,放入培养箱中继续培养。7～10d后传代,待细胞分层生长后,置于37℃摇床中250r/min振荡18h,倒掉上清液,D-Hank’s液洗3次后,加入0.25%胰酶消化,倒置显微镜下观察,待细胞突起回缩后加入含血清的培养基终止消化,用吸管反复吹打使细胞从瓶壁上脱落,细胞悬液1000r/min离心5min后,弃上清液,加入含体积分数为0.2血清的DMEM培养基混悬沉淀,接种入预先涂有L-多聚赖氨酸的培养瓶中继续培养。采用双重免疫荧光法鉴定星形胶质细胞纯度,测定积分吸光度值判断星形胶质细胞的生长状况。结果:①应用差速贴壁技术培养星形胶质细胞可明显提高星形胶质细胞纯度[常规培养组:(82±3)%,差速贴壁培养组15min:(94±2)%,差速贴壁培养组30min:(95±2)%,P<0.01]。差速贴壁需要充分的时间,15min组和30min组在提高星形胶质细胞纯度方面无明显差别。②差速贴壁培养组星形胶质细胞积分吸光度值高于常规培养组(常规培养组:528±25,差速贴壁培养组15min:972±17,差速贴壁培养组30min:996±35,P<0.05)。结论:①差速贴壁技术可明显提高星形胶质细胞纯化度,并且星形胶质细胞生长状态明显优于常规培养方法。②最佳差速贴壁时间为15min,过长差速贴壁时间对提高星形胶质细胞纯度无明显影响。     

Cryopreservation of all prezygotes in patients at risk of severe hyperstimulation does not eliminate the syndrome, but the chances of pregnancy are excellent with subsequent frozen-thaw transfers

In-vitro fertilization patients (n = 15) at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) (oestradiol > or =4500 pg/ml on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration and 25 or more follicles of intermediate or large size) underwent aspiration of all follicles and cryopreservation of all fertilized oocytes at the pronuclear stage. Patients were monitored for up to 2 weeks post- retrieval. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed embryos was performed in programmed cycles using exogenous oestrogen and progesterone for endometrial preparation. Two patients (13%) developed OHSS necessitating hospitalization and vaginal aspiration of ascitic fluid. Two other patients (13%) developed moderate OHSS requiring ascitic fluid vaginal aspiration in the office setting, with dramatic improvement of the condition. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved- thawed embryos yielded a clinical pregnancy rate of 58% per transfer and ongoing or delivery rates of 42 and 67% per transfer and per patient respectively. By eliminating pregnancy potential with cryopreservation of all prezygotes and examining the pregnancy potential with subsequent cryopreserved-thawed transfers, it is concluded that OHSS is reduced, but not eliminated for patients at risk. Subsequent transfer of cryopreserved-thawed prezygotes in a programmed cycle with exogenous steroids yields an excellent pregnancy rate.      

Carriage of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae in healthy Chinese and Vietnamese children in Hong Kong

Nasopharyngeal carriage of Haemophilus influenzae and Streptococcus pneumoniae was studied in 621 healthy Chinese children and 300 healthy Vietnamese children aged from 2 months to 5 years in Hong Kong. The carriage rate of H, influenzae type b in Vietnamese children was 1.3% (CI 0.04-2.63%); it was zero in Chinese. The carriage rate of non-typable H. influenzae was 5.8% (CI 1.4-7.6%) in Chinese and 65.4% (CI 58.9-69.8%) in Vietnamese. The carriage rates of S. pneumoniae were 10.8% (CI 8.3-13.2%) and 55.7% (CI 50.1-61.3%) in Chinese and Vietnamese children, respectively. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to search for factors associated with differences in carriage rates of both H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae between Chinese and Vietnamese children. Although older age, smaller living area and parental smoking were associated with higher carriage rates, these could not explain the remarkably low carriage rates of both bacteria in Chinese children.     

Genetic Engineering and Medical Ethics

In the introduction I express the need of introducing the point of view of Ethics when we are dealing with problems of science, technology, and especially medicine. In the first part of my presentation I deal with the problem of the value of human life, coming to the conclusion that human life might not be completely absolute, but is extremely important and “ceteris paribus” should be respected, and the problem of when it starts. Some of the main arguments are discussed. In this connection the question of abortion is briefly discussed. In the second part I deal with some problems related to human reproduction. Most people will be willing to support programmes for treating individuals with genetic disease; but at the same time the dangers of increasing depersonalization of the reproductive process are pointed out. In the third part I take up the problem of In Vitro Fertilisation. IVF has certainly brought benefits to some couples suffering from infertility, but at the same time it has raised quite a few human and moral problems. Is it permissible to fertilise an egg with a donor sperm, replacing the embryo in the womb? What about fertilising a donor egg with the husband's sperm? Is it acceptable to store or freeze embryos for future use? Is it moral to implant such an embryo in a woman who has no genetic relationship with the embryo? Is it moral to use surrogate mothers? Is it moral for ‘spare’ embryos to be killed or used as tissue for research? At the end I stress the need of dialogue between life sciences and ethics.     

贴报-P2临床毒理学、药理学和疗效研究

5-Flourouracil（5-FU） is one of well known anti-cancer drugs, but its toxicity in normal lymphocytes remains a major problem in chemotherapy. The eastern traditional drug, Bupleuri radix（BR）, has been used for the treatment of liver diseases and contains series of triterpene saponins.     

子宫肌瘤与性激素及细胞凋亡的关系

1对象和方法 1.1对象随机抽取2001-10/2002-09我科住院行子宫全切术的34例子宫肌瘤患者,其中卵泡期18例,黄体期16例,年龄35~45岁. 术后均经病理证实,在手术前3 mo均未接受过激素治疗,肌瘤大小为3~8 cm3. 自肌瘤瘤体及瘤旁肌层组织各取材1份作配对比较. 瘤体为实验组,肌层为对照组. 鼠抗人ER, PR, PRL-R, Bcl-2 mAb及链霉菌抗生物素蛋白-过氧化物酶(SP)免疫组化试剂盒,均购自福州迈新生物技术开发公司.     

Chemoprevention of spontaneous tumorigenesis in nullizygous p53- deficient mice by dehydroepiandrosterone and its analog 16alpha-fluoro- 5-androsten-17-one

Transgenic mice with both alleles of the p53 tumor suppressor gene product 'knocked out' by gene targeting are susceptible to early development of tumors, chiefly lymphomas and sarcomas. Compared with the control group, administration of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) at 0.3% of the diet to male p53-deficient mice extended their lifespan by delaying death due to neoplasms (from 105 to 166 days on study, P = 0.002), primarily by suppressing lymphoblastic lymphoma (from 45 to 6% of neoplastic deaths, P = 0.010). Treatment with a synthetic DHEA analog, 16alpha-fluoro-5-androsten-17-one (compound 8354), at 0.15% of the diet also increased lifespan, to 140 days for mice that developed tumors (P = 0.037). The effects of these steroids on lifespan and tumor development did not appear to be strongly related to inhibition of food consumption and weight gain, in that a group pair-fed with control diet to the reduced food consumption of the DHEA-treated group developed and died of the same types of neoplasms at the same rate as the controls fed ad libitum. The chemopreventive effect of these steroids has been proposed to be due to suppression of DNA synthesis by inhibition of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway. Although DHEA and its analog are strong non- competitive inhibitors of this enzyme in vitro, treatment with DHEA did not deplete cellular nucleotide pools in the liver, as would have been predicted. The chemopreventive effect of DHEA in this model may be due to steroid-induced thymic atrophy and suppression of T cell lymphoma, permitting these mice to survive long enough to develop tumors with longer latency.