The Prevalence and Association of Varicoceles on Male Patients With Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia/Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms.

Objective: To investigate the association between the prevalence of varicocele and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)/lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in elder man in China.

Methods: A total of 831 BPH/LUTS outpatients who were 40 years or older were recruited. The patients' age, total prostatic volume (TPV), International Prostate Symptom Score, total prostate-specific antigen, nocturia, and body mass index were recorded.

Injection of cardiac stem cells prolongs the survival of cardiac allograft rats.

Cardiac c-kit+ cells isolated from cardiac explant-derived cells modestly improve cardiac functions after myocardial infarction; however, their full potential has not yet been realized. The present study was undertaken to determine the isolation and culture of c-kit+ cardiac stem cells (CSCs), and the roles of myocardial injection of CSCs on the survival of rat cardiac allograft. Recipient Sprague-Dawley rats were transplanted with hearts from Wistar rats.

A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the proximal promoter region of the apolipoprotein M gene is associated with dyslipidaemia but not increased coronary artery diseases in Chinese populations.

Background: It has been reported that rs940494 and rs805296 SNPs of apolipoprotein M (apoM) gene may confer the risk in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and coronary artery disease (CAD) in the Han Chinese. However, a recent study demonstrated that rs805297 polymorphism is significantly associated with reduced total high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in rheumatoid arthritis patients. But the relationship between rs805297 SNP and CAD has not been explored.

Dihydrotestosterone regulating apolipoprotein M expression mediates via protein kinase C in HepG2 cells.

Background: Administration of androgens decreases plasma concentrations of high-density lipid cholesterol (HDL-C). However, the mechanisms by which androgens mediate lipid metabolism remain unknown. This present study used HepG2 cell cultures and ovariectomized C57BL/6 J mice to determine whether apolipoprotein M (ApoM), a constituent of HDL, was affected by dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

[Association between plasma macrophage migration inhibitory factor concentration and coronary artery lesion severity.].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the plasma macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), activator protein-1 (AP-1) and MMP-9 concentrations and the severity of coronary artery lesions in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients.

Methods: Patients were divided into normal controls (n = 35), stable angina pectoris (SAP, n = 32) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS, n = 75) according to the coronary angiography (CAG), clinical and laboratory examinations. The CAG severity and extent of coronary lesions were analyzed by means of Gensini coronary score system.

[The role of activator protein-1 in unstable coronary atherosclerotic changes].

Objective: To investigate the relation between activator protein-1 (AP-1) and coronary atherosclerotic changes and the potential role of AP-1 in the stabilization of atherosclerotic plaques in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).

Method: 142 patients were included in this study and divided into CHD group (107) and control group (35) according to coronary angiography (CAG). The CHD group was further divided into a stable angina pectoris (SAP) group (32) and an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) group (75) according to the clinical manifestations.