Publications by authors named "Xianmei Lu"

Purpureocillium lilacinum, widely used as a commercial biocontrol agent for controlling plant-parasitic nematodes, is an emerging opportunistic pathogen in humans and is increasingly reported, especially among immunocompromised patients. We report a classic case of cutaneous mycosis caused by P. lilacinum.

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Preeclampsia (PE) is a common pregnancy-specific syndrome with an incidence of 4.6% in all pregnant women. Numerous studies have uncovered the functions and mechanisms of microsomal glutathione transferase 1 (MGST1) in different diseases and cellular processes, but whether MGST1 plays a role in PE remains unclear.

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Background: To investigate the current situation of neonatal care resources (NCR), newborn mortality rates (NMR), regional differences and existing challenges in China.

Methods: By using a self-designed questionnaire form and the cross-sectional method, we conducted a survey of all hospitals equipped with neonatal facilities in China from March 2019 to March 2020 with respect to the level and nature of these hospitals, the number of newborn beds and NICU beds, the number of neonatal pediatricians, and the development of therapeutic techniques. The data about the newborn births and deaths were retrieved from the annual statistics of the health commissions of the related provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

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Background: Pruritus is one of the leading symptoms of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), however, studies on the pathogenesis of pruritus are scarce. Currently, skin mast cells (MCs) have been indicated to play a role in pruritus in autoimmune bullous disease.

Objective: To study the role of mast cells and related mediators involved in the pathogenesis of pruritus in DH.

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Bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris, which belong to the group of subepidermal and intraepidermal bullae, respectively, are two potentially devastating blistering skin diseases. We used high-frequency ultrasound (US) in 3 cases of these diseases as prototypes to study the value of high-frequency US in discriminating blister locations. Our findings showed that high-frequency US has a strong correlation with histomorphometric findings because of its high resolution, and we hope that it will be helpful for differentiating blister locations.

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Background: As a genetic disorder of abnormal pigmentation, the molecular basis of dyschromatosis universalis hereditaria (DUH) had remained unclear until recently when ABCB6 was reported as a causative gene of DUH.

Methodology: We performed genome-wide linkage scan using Illumina Human 660W-Quad BeadChip and exome sequencing analyses using Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon Kits in a multiplex Chinese DUH family to identify the pathogenic mutations and verified the candidate mutations using Sanger sequencing. Quantitative RT-PCR and Immunohistochemistry was performed to verify the expression of the pathogenic gene, Zebrafish was also used to confirm the functional role of ABCB6 in melanocytes and pigmentation.

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Unlabelled: We report a case of recurrent cutaneous necrotizing eosinophilic vasculitis (RCNEV) in a 57-year-old male. The patient presented with papules and pruritus of the lower limbs of more than 1 month duration, and with angioedema and intensively pruritic, necrotizing lesions of the bilateral anterior tibias and feet for 2 weeks. Treatment with systemic corticosteroids was administered for 1 month, and resulted in a significant improvement.

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Objective: To study the effects of Chinese materia medica (CMM) combined chemotherapy on the recurrence, metastasis, and the disease free survival (DFS) of stage II and III colorectal cancer (CC) patients after radical cure.

Methods: Recruited were 366 inpatients and outpatients with stage II and III colorectal cancer (CC) from Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, and Tumor Department of Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2002 to December 2008. A non-randomized concurrent control method was adopted.

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Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an acquired autoimmune subepidermal blistering disease characterized by circulating IgG autoantibodies directed against BP180 and BP230 hemidesmosomal proteins. Previous studies have demonstrated that antibodies against the NC16a domain of BP180 mediate BP pathogenesis, while antibodies against BP230 enhance the inflammatory response. Recently, commercial BP180-NC16a enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and BP230 ELISA kits were developed to detect anti-BP180 and anti-BP230 autoantibodies in human BP sera.

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Background: The incidence of colorectal cancer is high among the elderly. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in the treatment for colorectal cancer of old people. However, controlled trials with large sample size evaluating the effect of TCM are rare.

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Objective: To investigate the levels and roles of serum growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) in neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Methods: Serum GH and PRL levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in 54 neonates with HIE (20 mild, 19 moderate and 15 severe HIE) at the acute and convalescence stages. Twenty normal neonates were used as controls.

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Objective: To investigate the difference of serum high molecular weight alkaline phosphatase (HMAP) levels between biliary atresia (BA) and neonatal hepatitis (NH), and to develop a new differential method and early diagnostic indicators for cholestatic jaundice in neonates.

Methods: Totally 31 patients with cholestatic jaundice seen between Aug. 2000 and Feb.

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