Effects of rhDecorin on TGF-beta1 induced human hepatic stellate cells LX-2 activation.

Decorin is a small leucine-rich extracellular matrix proteoglycan composed of a core protein with a single glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain near the N-terminus and N-glycosylated at three potential sites. Decorin is involved in the regulation of formation and organization of collagen fibrils, modulation of the activity of growth factors such as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), and exerts other effects on cell proliferation and behavior. Increasing evidences show that decorin plays an important role in fibrogenesis by regulating TGF-beta, a key stimulator of fibrosis, and by directly modulating the degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) from activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs).

Effect of WeiJia on carbon tetrachloride induced chronic liver injury.

Aim: To study the effect of WeiJia on chronic liver injury using carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) induced liver injury animal model.

Methods: Wistar rats weighing 180-220g were randomly divided into three groups: normal control group (Group A), CCl(4) induced liver injury control group (Group B) and CCl(4) induction with WeiJia treatment group (Group C). Each group consisted of 14 rats.

Thrombosis of a spinal arteriovenous malformation after hemorrhage: case report.

Background: Thrombosis of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas following hemorrhage rarely have been reported. Rarer still is thrombosis of spinal AVMs following hemorrhage.

Case Description: A 6-year-old boy presented with sudden low back and sciatic pain, bilateral leg weakness, and an intramedullary spinal cord hematoma.

Delayed surgical resection reduces intraoperative blood loss for embolized meningiomas.

Objective: Embolization before surgical resection of tumors has been demonstrated to reduce intraoperative blood loss, but the optimal time that should elapse between embolization and tumor resection has not been established. We evaluated whether immediate surgical resection (< or =24 h) after embolization or delayed surgical resection (>24 h) was more effective in minimizing intraoperative blood loss.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records for 50 patients with meningiomas who underwent preoperative embolization between 1993 and 1999.

Symptomatic enlarged cervical anterior epidural venous plexus in a patient with Marfan syndrome.

A 38-year-old man with Marfan syndrome presented with headache and neck pain. MR imaging revealed a large enhancing mass in the cervical anterior epidural space. Cervical laminectomy with biopsy of the lesion revealed a large engorged anterior epidural venous plexus (AEVP).