Monitoring Hepatocyte Dysfunction and Biliary Complication After Liver Transplantation Using Quantitative Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy

The significance of hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) for hepatic graft function assessment was established mostly on retrospective studies and was not widely recognized due to the lack of quantitative data and variation in accuracy. This prospective study was performed to investigate the effectiveness of quantitative HBS for assessing hepatocyte dysfunction and biliary complication in liver transplant recipients.In 57 recipients who had undergone orthotopic liver transplantation, a total of 67 dynamic ^99mTc-EHIDA scans were performed and quantitative parameters including the hepatocyte extraction fraction (HEF), time to maximum hepatic radioactivity (T_max), and time for peak activity to decrease by 50% (T_1/2) were calculated. The scintigraphic results based on the 3 parameters were compared against the final diagnosis. A ROC curve analysis was carried out to identify the cutoff value of T_max for diagnosis of biliary stricture. Correlation between the parameters of postoperative HBS and conventional biochemical liver function indices were also analyzed.Quantitative ^99mTc-EHIDA HBS had an overall sensitivity of 94.12% (16/17), specificity of 93.33% (42/45), and diagnostic accuracy of 93.55% (58/62) for detecting hepatocyte dysfunction and biliary complication in liver transplant recipients. The recommended cutoff value of T_max for diagnosis of post-transplant biliary stricture was set at 15.75 min with a sensitivity of 100.0% and a specificity of 94.0%. The scintigraphic parameters (HEF, T_max) were statistically significantly associated with the conventional liver function parameters.Quantitative ^99mTc-EHIDA HBS offers a noninvasive imaging modality with high sensitivity and specificity to diagnose hepatocyte dysfunction as well as distinguish between patients with or without biliary stricture following liver transplantation. Furthermore, HEF and T_max values obtained from dynamic HBS show good correlation with conventional liver function parameters.     

Rabs and axonal regeneration

Membrane trafficking processes are presumably vital for axonal regeneration after injury, but mechanistic understanding in this regard has been sparse. A recent loss-of-function screen had been carried out for factors important for axonal regeneration by cultured cortical neurons and the results suggested that the activity of a number of Rab GTPases might act to restrict axonal regeneration. A loss of Rab27b, in particular, is shown to enhance axonal regeneration in vitro, as well as in C. elegans and mouse central nervous system injury models in vivo. Possible mechanisms underlying this new finding, which has important academic and translational implication, are discussed.     

Analysis of Risk and Burden of Dysentery Associated with Floods from 2004 to 2010 in Nanning,China

This study aimed to examine the association between floods and the morbidity of dysentery and to quantify the burden of dysentery due to floods in Nanning, China. A generalized additive mixed model was conducted to assess the relationship between monthly morbidity of dysentery and floods from 2004 to 2010. The years lived with disability (YLDs) of dysentery attributable to floods were then estimated based on the WHO framework of the burden of disease study for calculating the potential impact fraction. The relative risk (RR) of floods on the morbidity of dysentery was 1.44 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.18–1.75). The models suggest that a potential 1-day rise in flood duration may lead to 8% (RR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.04–1.12) increase in the morbidity of dysentery. The average attributable YLD per 1,000 of dysentery caused by floods were 0.013 in males, 0.005 in females, and 0.009 in persons. Our study confirms that floods have significantly increased the risk and the burden of dysentery in the study area. Public health action should be taken to prevent and control the potential risk of dysentery after floods. Vulnerable groups such as males and children should be paid more attention.     

软组织损伤引起慢性疼痛的治疗

目的：综述运动系统软组织损伤引起慢性疼痛的各种治疗方法的研究进展。资料来源：应用计算机检索Medline1980—01／2006—04与运动系统软组织损伤引起慢性疼痛的治疗相关文章，检索词“Soft tissue injury，pain．chronic，comprehensive therapy”，并限定文章语言种类为“English”；同时计算机检索中国期刊全文数据库1994—01／2006-04期间的相关文章，检索词“软组织损伤、慢性疼痛、治疗方法”，并限定语言种类为中文。同时手工查阅相关书籍。资料选择：对资料进行初审，所选文献内容符合：①软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛药物治疗的研究。②软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛微创治疗的研究。③软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛运动疗法的研究。④软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛心理治疗的研究。⑤软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛其他疗法的研究。排除重复性研究的文献。资料提炼：共收集到40篇关于软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛治疗方法的文献，均为全文，23篇符合纳入标准，排除17篇重复性研究。同时录入书籍3本。资料综合：软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛的产生是生理、心理及社会因素复杂结合的结果，个体表现差异较大，目前尚无特效治疗方法，常用的治疗方法有：药物治疗、微创治疗、运动疗法、心理治疗、物理疗法及其他疗法。结论：对于软组织损伤引起的慢性疼痛的治疗必须以整体的观点对其进行合理的评估和个体化治疗，才能收到良好的效果。     

胃食管反流病与功能磁共振技术

随着对胃食管反流病研究的深入,大脑和食管感觉及胃排空的相互作用越来越受到重视,功能磁共振成像技术,有助于进一步了解胃食管反流病的发病机制。     

心房颤动的导管消融治疗

心房颤动(简称“房颤”)是心血管疾病中无论在控制症状方面还是改善预后方面均不理想的病种。房颤的导管消融作为一种新的治疗手段,从10年前诞生之日起就引发了房颤治疗的革命,近2年来,越来越多的国内外医学中心已将其作为房颤的常规治疗。本文就现阶段如何选择房颤导管消融治疗的适应证作简要评价。1目前的方法简介由于迄今的资料充分证实房颤的起源90%以上位于肺静脉及其与左房后壁的过渡区域(肺静脉前庭),导管根治房颤的方法也就集中在将该区域与左房之间的电学传导阻断。目前的主流方法是在三维标测系统CARTO或NavX指导下行肺静脉隔…     

皮瓣展平法在耳廓再造时扩张皮瓣感染中的应用

目的探索耳廓再造时扩张皮瓣感染的处理方法。方法分析中国协和医科大学整形外科医院外耳冉造中心2003年1月～2005年12月耳廓再造时耳后扩张皮瓣发生感染，经皮瓣展平法处理，感染控制后进行耳再造的12例（12耳）患者的治疗情况。结果12例（12耳）患者手术顺利，术后恢复好，再造耳效果与无感染者无明显差异。结论皮瓣展平法是耳廓再造时扩张皮瓣感染较理想的处理方法。     

高转换型肾性骨病中骨保护素及其配体的表达和形态计量学观察

目的 观察高转换型肾性骨病中骨保护素及其配体 (OPG，RANKL)的表达，并与骨形态计量学指标进行相关分析。 方法 选择10例慢性肾衰尿毒症患者和3例正常人进行髂骨活检术，获得骨组织标本。采用免疫组化方法检测OPG和RANKL蛋白质的表达。采用全自动图像分析系统进行骨组织形态计量学测定。结果 10例慢性肾衰尿毒症患者经骨病理学检查证实均为高转换型骨病，以破骨细胞活化形成骨吸收陷窝伴或不伴骨矿化不全为特点。免疫组化显示尿毒症患者骨组织中以RANKL阳性表达为主。与正常对照相比，RANKL阳性表达细胞数目显著增加，OPG阳性表达细胞数目显著减少。尿毒症患者RANKL的阳性表达细胞数目与骨吸收面积和破骨细胞数目呈显著正相关。结论 高转换型肾性骨病中，PTH的溶骨作用可能是通过OPG/RANKL/RANK系统介导的。