Effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation for drug-resistant generalized epilepsy in children aged six and younger.

Background: To explore a novel scoring system to evaluate the efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in children with drug-resistant generalized epilepsy (DRGE) aged six and younger.

Basic Procedures: The data of twelve children with DRGE under the age of 6 years who accepted VNS and have been followed up for at least 3 years were retrospectively reviewed. The outcome was evaluated with the McHugh Classification System and a novel scoring system we proposed.

CHD4 variants are associated with childhood idiopathic epilepsy with sinus arrhythmia.

Aims: CHD4 gene, encoding chromodomain helicase DNA-binding protein 4, is a vital gene for fetal development. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between CHD4 variants and idiopathic epilepsy.

Methods: Trios-based whole-exome sequencing was performed in a cohort of 482 patients with childhood idiopathic epilepsy.

Entecavir add-on Peg-interferon therapy plays a positive role in reversing hepatic fibrosis in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients: a prospective and randomized controlled trial.

Background: The efficacy of entecavir (ETV) add-on peg-interferon therapy compared with ETV monotherapy in treatment-naïve hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients remains controversial. We investigated whether adding peg-interferon to ongoing ETV treatment leads to a better curative effect or not.

Methods: All patients have been recruited between August 2013 and January 2015 from the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center and Zhongshan Hospital (China).

Induction of Apoptosis in Pterygium Cells by Antagonists of Growth Hormone-Releasing Hormone Receptors.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate the signaling of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor (GHRH-R) in the pathogenesis of pterygium and determine the apoptotic effect of GHRH-R antagonist on pterygium epithelial cells (PECs).

Methods: Fourteen samples of primary pterygium of grade T3 with size of corneal invasion ≥ 4 mm were obtained for investigation by histology, immunofluorescence, electron microscopy, explant culture, and flow cytometry.

Results: We found that PECs were localized in the basal layer of the epithelium in advancing regions of the head of pterygium.

Clinical features of benign epilepsy of childhood with centrotemporal spikes in chinese children.

This multicenter clinical trial was conducted to examine current practice of benign epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes and especially address the question that in what circumstances 1 antiepileptic drug (AED) should be preferred.Twenty-five medical centers participate in this clinical trial. The general information, clinical information, and treatment status were collected under the guidance of clinicians and then analyzed.

[Effects of cyclooxygenase-2 selective inhibitor celecoxib on the expression of major vault protein in rats with status epilepticus].

Objective: To study the effect of cyclooxygenase -2 selective inhibitor celecoxib on the expression of major vault protein ( MVP) in the brain of rats with status epilepticus and its possible roles in the treatment of refractory epilepsy.

Methods: Sixty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to blank control (n=16), epilepsy model (n=22) and celecoxib treatment groups (n=22). After the status epilepticus was induced in rats by injecting lithium and pilocarpine, each group had 16 rats enrolled as subjects.

Short-term use of antiepileptic drugs is neurotoxic to the immature brain.

Previous studies have shown that the long-term use of antiepileptic drugs can cause nervous system damage. However, short-term antiepileptic drug treatment is frequently given to infants, especially neonates, to control seizure. Whether the short-term use of antiepileptic drugs is neurotoxic remains unclear.

[Relationship between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Beijing community population].

Objective: To explore the correlation between glycemic control of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and brachial-ankle pulse velocity (baPWV).

Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Beijing, China. Every subject underwent physical examinations, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), blood lipid and baPWV measurements and completed a standardized questionnaire.

Efficacy of levetiracetam in electrical status epilepticus during sleep of children: a multicenter experience.

Background: Electrical status epilepticus during sleep is characterized by epilepsy, a specific electroencephalographic pattern, and neuropsychological impairment. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of levetiracetam in treating children with electrical status epilepticus during sleep.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, open-label study enrolled 73 children (mean age: 8 years) affected by electrical status epilepticus during sleep.

[Effect of astrocytes with different degrees of proliferation on multidrug resistance gene expression in rats with epilepsy].

Objective: To study the relationship of activated astrocytes and multidrug resistance gene (MDR) expression in rats with epilepsy.

Methods: Astrocytes of neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats were separated and cultured. The cultured cells of passage 3 were activated by TNF-α for 2, 24 or 48 hrs.

[Effects of valproate acid on blood lipid, serum leptin and cerebral cortex in juvenile and adult rats].

Objective: To study the effects of valproate acid (VPA) on serum lipid and leptin levels and cerebral cortex in juvenile and adult rats.

Methods: Twenty healthy juvenile female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (21-day-old) and twenty healthy adult female SD rats (2-month-old) were randomly divided into four groups (n=10 each): juvenile control, juvenile VPA, adult control and adult VPA. Juvenile and adult VPA groups were fed with VPA 200 mg/kg daily, while the two control groups were fed with normal saline.

Hospitalized patients with novel influenza A (H1N1) virus infection: Shanghai, June - July 2009.

Background: From late May 2009, sporadic imported cases of novel influenza A (H1N1) were continuously confirmed in Shanghai, but there were few reports on its clinical presentation in China. The aim of the study was to investigate the demographic and clinical features of the laboratory-confirmed cases and the treatment with oseltamivir.

Method: We performed a retrospective study in the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center (SHAPHC), reviewing the medical records of the laboratory-confirmed patients derived from June 10 to July 20, 2009.

Pulmonary miliary tuberculosis and intestinal tuberculosis co-infected with AIDS.

Infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis account for 25 million patients worldwide. Tuberculosis is the most common opportunistic infectious disease in HIV-infected subjects, and HIV infection is a high-risk factor for tuberculosis. The convergence of HIV and tuberculosis is a disaster practically unequalled in medical history.

[Anassociation study between OPHN1 gene rs492933 polymorphism and mental retardation in children of the Qinba Mountain region.].

The OPHN1 gene encodes a Rho-GTPase activating protein (RhoGAP), and mutations in OPHN1 are responsible for non-specific X-linked mental retardation (NSMR). A SNP located in the 5'-untranslated region (UTRs) of OPHN1 (rs492933) was examined by PCR-RFLP to assess its contribution to cognitive ability in 234 unrelated healthy and MR children in the Qinba Mountain region in Shaanxi. The allelic frequencies of rs492933 were 0.

[Relationship between the polymorphisms of GDI1, children NSMR and their intelligence in Qinba region].

The subjects of this study were recruited from Zha Shui and An Kang counties in the Qinba mountain region located in Middle-west China. The present study discussed the relationship between the variations of GDI1 with the children NSMR and their intelligence levels. The case-control association analysis method was used to analyze the association between the polymorphisms of two functional SNPs (rs2276462 and rs11549300) located in splicing site of the seventh exon and the eighth exon respectively, with NSMR and their different intelligence levels.

[Protective effect of fructose-1,6-diphosphate against ultrastructural damage in the hippocampus of rats with repeated febrile seizures].

Objective: Fructose-1, 6-diphosphate (FDP), serving as a cellular energy substance, has shown its roles in the treatment of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and myocardial damage. The present study aimed at exploring the potentiality of the protective effect of FDP against ultrastructural damage of the hippocampus caused by febrile seizures (FS) in rats.

Methods: Thirty-six 21-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups: untreated FS (control), high-dose FDP-treated FS and low-dose FDP-treated FS.

[Effects of topiramate and valproate acid on serum insulin and leptin levels in young and adult rats].

Objective: To study the effects of topiramate (TPM) and valproate acid (VPA) on serum insulin and leptin levels in young and adult rats.

Methods: Thirty healthy female young rats (21 days old) and thirty healthy female adult rats (2 months old) were randomly administered with TPM (50 mg/kg daily), VPA (200 mg/kg daily) or normal saline (control group) by intragastric administration for 5 weeks. After 5 weeks, serum leptin and insulin levels were detected by radioimmunoassay (RIA).

Association between a functional COMT polymorphism, mental retardation and cognition in Qinba area children.

Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) plays an important role in the metabolism of neurotransmitters. Two alleles of the COMT gene as a result of a G/A transition in the exon 4 can lead to different COMT enzymatic activities. Much genetic research has revealed that this COMT functional polymorphism was related to human psychiatric disorders.