脂质体介导人β-神经生长因子基因转染培养肌母细胞的表达研究

目的　了解含 β-神经生长因子 (β- NGF)基因的表达质粒 PSVCEP NGF- CAT在培养肌母细胞中的表达及 L ipofect AMINE阳离子脂质体介导的转染效率。方法　将表达质粒 PSVCEP NGF- CAT经 L ipofectAMINE转染至培养成的肌母细胞中 ,用免疫细胞化学方法检测基因在肌母细胞内的表达。结果　培养肌母细胞在转染 6小时吞噬脂质体最显著 ,转染 48小时后约 40 %的肌母细胞胞质内有β- NGF基因表达。结论　含β- NGF基因的表达质粒 PSVCEP NGF- CAT可以在培养肌母细胞中表达 ,脂质体转染的方法简便、有效     

Dental care of patients with autoimmune vesiculobullous diseases: case reports and literature review.

Dental management of patients with autoimmune vesiculobullous disorders is complicated because of prominent involvement of oral mucosa, increased risk of oral disease, and difficulty in rendering dental care. Although these diseases are relatively uncommon, dental practitioners should be familiar with the oral sequelae of these conditions and their management. Pemphigus vulgaris, cicatricial pemphigoid, and epidermolysis bullosa represent the most common autoimmune oral vesiculobullous diseases. This case-illustrated review summarizes the pathogenesis, diagnostic features, and natural history of oral vesiculobullous disorders, placing an emphasis on the treatment and prevention of associated oral disease aimed at maintaining a healthy, functional dentition.     

Exclusion of Treacher Collins Franceschetti syndrome in a subject with tetralogy of Fallot and cryptorchidism

Genotyping with flanking DNA markers was used to ascertain Treacher Collins Franceschetti syndrome (TCOF1) in a subject affected by tetralogy of Fallot and cryptorchidism. The proband's family consisted of a father and sister who were affected by the disease, and a healthy mother. Since cardiac malformation and cryptorchidism have been associated with the TCOF1 syndrome, the proband was suspected to be a carrier of the mutated gene. Microsatellite markers D5S527, SPARC and D5S519, which previously mapped the TCOF1 gene within a 2.1-cM interval on chromosome 5 (5q32–33.1), were used to follow the transmission of the TCOf 1 mutated locus. Flanking markers D5S519 and D5S527 were informative and enabled us to exclude inheritance of a TCOF1 mutation to the proband, while showing that cardiac malformation and cryptorchidism were unrelated in mis patient.     

Immunotherapeutic targets in non-small cell lung cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is one of the most common types of cancer in the world and has a 5-year survival rate of ~20%. Immunotherapies have shown promising results leading to durable responses, however, they are only effective for a subset of patients. To determine the best therapeutic approach, a thorough and in-depth profiling of the tumour microenvironment (TME) is required. The TME is a complex network of cell types that form an interconnected network, promoting tumour cell initiation, growth and dissemination. The stroma, immune cells and endothelial cells that comprise the TME generate a plethora of cytotoxic or cytoprotective signalling pathways. In this review, we discuss immunotherapeutic targets in NSCLC tumours and how the TME may influence patients' response to immunotherapy.     

Small Cell Carcinoma of the Vagina Causing Cushing''s Syndrome by Ectopic Production and Secretion of ACTH: A Case Report

Background: Small cell carcinomas of pulmonary or extrapulmonary origin are neuroendocrine tumors classically associated with ectopic hormone production, particularly ACTH secretion resulting in Cushing's syndrome. However, ectopic Cushing's syndrome has not previously been reported in the setting of small cell carcinoma of the vagina. Methods: A primary vaginal tumor with hepatic metastases was evaluated with light microscopy. Serum cortisol and plasma ACTH levels were evaluated by radioimmunoassay and immunoradiometric assay, respectively, during a standard high-dose (8 mg) overnight dexamethasone suppression test. Results: Vaginal small cell carcinoma with hepatic metastases was demonstrated. Electrolyte abnormalities, elevated cortisol and ACTH levels, and failure to suppress ACTH secretion during high-dose dexamethasone administration confirmed the diagnosis of ectopic ACTH syndrome. Conclusions: This case report establishes a clinical association between vaginal small cell carcinoma and ectopic Cushing's syndrome, confirming the neuroendocrine potential of this malignancy and features common to small cell neoplasms originating in other sites.     

Is upper mediastinal lymphadenectomy necessary in squamous carcinoma of the lower thoracic oesophagus?

AIM: We examined the indication of upper mediastinal lymphadenectomy for a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower thoracic oesophagus. METHODS: 49 patients underwent a curative oesophagectomy with upper mediastinal lymphadenectomy for a squamous cell carcinoma of the lower thoracic oesophagus. Node status and clinicopathological characteristics of these patients were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: 16 (94.1%) of 17 patients with superficial tumours had no positive node in the upper mediastinum. Nine (29.0%) of 31 patients with transmural tumours had positive nodes in the upper mediastinum (P = 0.04). Ten (20.4%) of 49 patients had many positive nodes in the upper mediastinum. Of these 10 patients, 6 patients had 5 or more positive nodes in all. The 5-year survival rate for patients with 5 or more positive nodes was 7.7%, which was significantly poorer than patients with 4 or fewer positive nodes. CONCLUSIONS: Upper mediastinal lymphadenectomy is unnecessary in most of the superficial squamous carcinomas of the lower thoracic oesophagus.     

Label-free metabolic imaging of non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease (NAFLD) liver by volumetric dynamic optical coherence tomography

Label-free metabolic imaging of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mouse liver is demonstrated ex vivo by dynamic optical coherence tomography (OCT). The NAFLD mouse is a methionine choline-deficient (MCD)-diet model, and two mice fed the MCD diet for 1 and 2 weeks are involved in addition to a normal-diet mouse. The dynamic OCT is based on repeating raster scan and logarithmic intensity variance (LIV) analysis that enables volumetric metabolic imaging with a standard-speed (50,000 A-lines/s) OCT system. Metabolic domains associated with lipid droplet accumulation and inflammation are clearly visualized three-dimensionally. Particularly, the normal-diet liver exhibits highly metabolic vessel-like structures of peri-vascular hepatic zones. The 1-week MCD-diet liver shows ring-shaped highly metabolic structures formed with lipid droplets. The 2-week MCD-diet liver exhibits fragmented vessel-like structures associated with inflammation. These results imply that volumetric LIV imaging is useful for visualizing and assessing NAFLD abnormalities.     

Treating peripheral neuropathy in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus with intraneural facilitation: a single blind randomized control trial

ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of intraneural facilitation (INF) for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).MethodsThis single-blind, randomized clinical trial enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and moderate-to-severe DPN symptoms below the ankle. Patients were randomly assigned to receive INF or sham treatment. In the INF group, trained INF physical therapists provided therapy for 50–60 min, three times a week for 3 weeks. Sham treatment consisted of patients believing they received anodyne therapy for 3 weeks. Pre- and post-treatment data were compared between the two groups for quality of life, balance, gait, protective sensory function and pain outcome measures.ResultsA total of 28 patients (17 males) were enrolled in the study (INF group n = 17; sham group n = 11). There was a significant decrease in the overall pain score in both the INF and sham groups over time, but the decrease was greater in the INF group (1.11 versus 0.82). Between-group comparisons demonstrated significant differences in unpleasant pain and protective sensory function. The INF group showed post-treatment improvements in protective sensory function and composite static balance score.ConclusionsINF treatment improved pain perception, the composite static balance score and protective sensations in patients with DPN.Research Registry number: CNCT04025320     

镫骨骨质缺损对听力传导影响的有限元分析

目的建立完善的鼓膜-听骨链模型,利用有限元初步探讨镫骨前、后脚骨质缺损对听力传导的影响。方法实验数据源于对一名无中耳病史的成年男性左侧颞骨进行Micro-CT扫描,在医学影像处理软件Mimics上进行三维重建,利用Geomagic形成需要的曲面,最后在SolidWorks上将成型的鼓膜-听骨链模型进行切割组装,建立正常听骨链模型以及镫骨前、后脚骨质缺损模型,利用模型分析骨质缺损对听力传导的影响。结果建立的鼓膜-听骨链模型镫骨足板频振曲线符合相关文献报道,在镫骨前、后脚骨质缺损病理模型下,曲线与正常中耳模型曲线接近。结论利用多软件综合处理,可建立可信度较高的中耳听骨链模型;有限元模拟分析结果显示,镫骨前、后脚缺损部分骨质,未对听力传导产生明显影响。