Ruptured distal anterior choroidal artery aneurysm.

Ruptured aneurysms of the distal anterior choroidal artery (AchA) are extremely rare and management is dictated by clinical presentation. This report describes a rare patient with a distal AchA aneurysm and subarachnoid and intraventricular haemorrhage. A 60-year-old woman presented with a sudden onset of severe headache and vomiting. No aneurysms could be found on initial angiograms. A repeat angiogram performed 10 days after admission demonstrated an aneurysm in a branch of the cisternal segment of the left AchA without a definite neck. Surrounding vessels showed multifocal stricture and dilatation. Microsurgical clipping was not performed because the patient died suddenly due to pulmonary failure. The aetiology of the aneurysm in this case and surgical strategy are discussed.     

上海市闵行区性病门诊本地和外来病人的比较研究

目的分析和比较上海市闵行区性病门诊本地与外来病人的流行病学特征。方法对2001~2004年上海市闵行区3家设有标准化性病门诊的公立医院进行门诊病历的回顾性分析。结果外来人口约占全部性病门诊病人的50%,其中女性病例占18.2%,未婚者占23.8%,均高于本地同类人员的比例;外来病人年龄偏低,多重感染者比例较高;男女外来病人与本地病人的首诊原因和症状排位相同,均以淋病感染为主;外来病人随访率(81.2%)较本地病人低(86.0%)。结论性病门诊本地和外来病人在人口学特征、诊疗行为上存在差异,防制措施应有所不同和侧重。     

Application of a pigment measuring device – Mexameter®– for the differential diagnosis of vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus

Background/purpose: Vitiligo and nevus depigmentosus (ND) present similar hypopigmented macules with significantly different prognoses. Although the distinction between the two diseases is important, differential diagnosis relies on medical history and physical examination, which is far from decisive in some cases. The Mexameter^® is an objective skin color-measuring device, and has been reported to provide a reproducible and sensitive means of quantifying small skin color differences. In this study, we investigated the usefulness of a Mexameter^® for discriminating these diseases.
Methods: A selection of 202 hypopigmented skin lesions (182 from vitiligo and 20 from ND) were the objects of this study. Using a Mexameter, MIs were obtained from lesions and symmetrically located control skin. RMIs, ratios of the MIs of lesional skins to control skins, were calculated.
Results: The mean MIs and RMIs were significantly different for vitiligo and ND. The mean RMI of ND lesions was 74±13, which was significantly higher than that of vitiligo lesions (50±24). No ND lesion had an RMI of <50%.
Conclusion: This study shows that the Mexameter^®, an objective pigment-measuring device, can be used to achieve a more accurate diagnosis of hypopigmentary disorders, and that the relative melanin index (RMI), which represents the relative pigment levels, might be a more effective parameter than the melanin index (MI) itself for comparing pigmentation differences.     

Effect of leptin on the regulation of placental hormone secretion in cultured human placental cells.

Placenta is an important source of leptin during pregnancy that contributes to the high plasma leptin levels in pregnant women. Leptin and its functional receptors are synthesized in trophoblast cells that, in turn, secrete gestational hormones supporting a paracrine or autocrine role for leptin in the endocrine activity of the placenta. In the present study we examined the effect of leptin on in vitro release of gestational hormones (human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), human placental lactogen (hPL), progesterone, estrogens and testosterone) by human term placental cells in culture. Placentas at term were obtained immediately after delivery from mothers with uncomplicated pregnancies. Progesterone, hCG, hPL, estradiol, estrone, estriol and testosterone levels were measured by different assays in culture media of cells maintained in monolayer culture after incubation for 12, 24, 48 or 72 h with leptin or placebo. Incubation with leptin did not modify hCG, hPL, progesterone, estriol and estrone secretion for any of the doses and times assayed. However, leptin led to a dose-dependent decrease in estradiol release. This effect was observed when treatment with recombinant human leptin spanned from 12 to 72 h. At this time an increase in testosterone levels was observed in leptin-treated cells versus placebo. These results indicate that leptin can be considered a gestational hormone implied in the endocrine function of the placenta, with an important role in control of the production of steroid reproductive hormones in placental cells in vitro.     

拆方研究补中益气汤中黄芪 甘草及全方的免疫调节作用

目的　检测补中益气汤中黄芪、甘草及全方对病态机体的免疫调节作用。方法　分 7组检测全方中黄芪、甘草及全方缺黄芪、缺甘草组方对利血平制备的脾虚小鼠的 5项非特异性免疫功能的影响进行研究。结果　黄芪能使Hb明显升高 ,单味甘草对某些免疫功能不起作用甚至起抑制作用 ,缺甘草组方作用低于全方 ,全方能明显提高机体免疫功能。结论　黄芪是方中主要升高Hb药物 ;方中甘草起到特殊的调节作用。     

Effect of Coenzyme Q10 and green tea on plasma and liver lipids, platelet aggregation, TBARS production and erythrocyte Na leak in simvastatin treated hypercholesterolmic rats

This study was conducted to investigate the hypocholesterolemic effect of simvastatin (30 mg/kg BW) and antioxidant effect of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10, 15 mg/kg BW) or green tea (5%) on erythrocyte Na leak, platelet aggregation and TBARS production in hypercholesterolemic rats treated with statin. Food efficiency ratio (FER, ADG/ADFI) was decreased in statin group and increased in green tea group, and the difference between these two groups was significant (p<0.05). Plasma total cholesterol was somewhat increased in all groups with statin compared with control. Plasma triglyceride was decreased in statin group and increased in groups of CoQ10 and green tea, and the difference between groups of statin and green tea was significant (p<0.05). Liver total cholesterol was not different between the control and statin group, but was significantly decreased in the group with green tea compared with other groups (p<0.05). Liver triglyceride was decreased in groups of statin and green tea compared with the control, and the difference between groups of the control and green tea was significant (p<0.05). Platelet aggregation of both the initial slope and the maximum was not significantly different, but the group with green tea tended to be higher in initial slope and lower in the maximum. Intracellular Na of group with green tea was significantly higher than the control or statin group (p<0.05). Na leak in intact cells was significantly decreased in the statin group compared with the control (p<0.05). Na leak in AAPH treated cells was also significantly reduced in the statin group compared with groups of the control and CoQ10 (p<0.05). TBARS production in platelet rich plasma was significantly decreased in the groups with CoQ10 and green tea compared with the control and statin groups (p<0.05). TBARS of liver was significantly decreased in the group with green tea compared with the statin group (p<0.05). In the present study, even a high dose of statin did not show a cholesterol lowering effect, therefore depletion of CoQ10 following statin treatment in rats is not clear. More clinical studies are needed for therapeutic use of CoQ10 as an antioxidant in prevention of degenerative diseases independent of statin therapy.     

Critical size defect in the canine mandible.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum size defect in a canine mandible that would not spontaneously heal during the dog's natural life (the critical size defect). STUDY DESIGN: Sixteen adult female mongrel dogs underwent continuity resection on both sides of the mandible to create bilateral defects. In 8 dogs, mandibular defects ranging from 5 to 20 mm were created with periosteal resection. In the other 8 dogs, mandibular defects ranging from 30 to 60 mm were created preserving the periosteum. The dogs were then killed at 6 months and the defects examined using radiographs and histologic analysis. RESULTS: When the periosteum was removed, mandibular defects greater than 15 mm failed to heal across the entire defect. However, when the periosteum was preserved, mandibular defects needed to be greater than 50 mm in order to fail to heal. CONCLUSION: The critical size defect in a canine mandible model is 15 mm when the periosteum is removed and 50 mm when the periosteum is preserved.     

Central metabotropic glutamate receptors differentially participate in interleukin-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area of conscious rats.

The present study investigated the role of central metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Experiments were carried out on male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 230 to 280 g. After administration of 0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 pg of IL-1beta into a subcutaneous area of the vibrissa pad, we examined the withdrawal behavioral responses produced by 10 successive trials of an air-puff ramp pressure applied ipsilaterally or contralaterally to the IL-1beta injection site. Subcutaneous injection of IL-1beta produced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Intracisternal administration of CPCCOEt, a mGluR1 antagonist, or MPEP, a mGluR5 antagonist, reduced IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia. Intracisternal administration of APDC, a group II mGluR agonist, or L-AP4, a group III mGluR agonist, reduced both IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia. The antiallodynic effect, induced by APDC or L-AP4, was blocked by intracisternal pretreatment with LY341495, a group II mGluR antagonist, or CPPG, a group III mGluR antagonist. These results suggest that groups I, II, and III mGluRs differentially modulated IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia, as well as mirror-image mechanical allodynia, in the orofacial area. PERSPECTIVE: Central group I mGluR antagonists and groups II and III mGluR agonists modulate IL-1beta-induced mechanical allodynia and mirror-image mechanical allodynia in the orofacial area. Therefore, the central application of group I mGluR antagonists or groups II and III mGluR agonists might be of therapeutic value in treating pain disorder.