Comparison of EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLU-C10D utilities in gastric cancer patients.

Background: To compare measurement properties of the utility scores derived from various country-specific value sets of EQ-5D-5L (5L) and EORTC QLU-C10D (10D) in gastric cancer patient.

Methods: The study used cross-sectional data of 243 Chinese gastric cancer patients who completed both 5L and EORTC QLQ-C30. Utility score of QLU-C10D is generated from all the available QLU-C10D value sets currently; the score of 5L is derived from the corresponding 5L value sets for the countries with both the 5L and QLU-C10D value sets and the Chinese 5L value set.

Evaluating health-related quality of life in gastric cancer patients in Suzhou, China.

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has become an important part of the evaluation of clinical efficacy and prognosis in gastric cancer. This study aimed to assess the HRQOL of patients with gastric cancer using the a five-level EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L) and explore the factors influencing patients' perceived quality of life. For those significant factors, we can take appropriate measures to intervene to extend patient survival and improve the quality of life.

Correlation between Chinese Medicine Constitution and Skin Types: A Study on 187 Japanese Women.

Objective: Chinese medicine (CM) is widely applied in cosmetics and dermatology. The theory of CM believes that skin characterizations reflect the internal status of balance which can be represented by body constitution, but relevant studies are few. This study aims to analyze the relationship between body constitution of CM and skin condition.

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion surgery versus total disc replacement: A comparative study with minimum of 10-year follow-up.

Based on long-term follow-ups, this study was designed to investigate the incidence and risk factors for postoperative adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) or total disc replacement (TDR) in treating cervical degenerative diseases. Between January 2000 and December 2005, 108 cases undergoing ACDF and 78 undergoing TDR, were enrolled into this study. All medical records were retrospectively collected.

Effect of gemcitabine on the uptake of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose and (18)F-fluorothymidine in lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and the animal tumor model.

Background: Gemcitabine is the first-line drug for nonsmall cell lung cancer, and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose. (18F-FDG) and 18F-fluorothymidine. (18F-FLT) are positron emission tomography.

Effectiveness of family involvement in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes patients: a follow-up study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of family-involvement on health education for T2DM from the aspects of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), body mass index (BMI) and glucose control.

Methods: A follow-up study was performed and patients with newly diagnosed T2DM were divided into family-involved group (FIG, n=60) and single-involved group (SIG, n=60). Hierarchical linear models were used to assess within-group changes and between-group differences in the glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), KAP, SF-36 and BMI.

Effect of Health Education Based on Integrative Therapy of Chinese and Western Medicine for Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Objective: To investigate the effects of health education based on integrative therapy of Chinese and Western medicine for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) from the aspects of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), body mass index (BMI) and glucose control.

Methods: Patients were individually randomized into intervention group (receiving integrative education, n=120) and control group (receiving usual education, n=120). The primary outcome was the changes in glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months from baseline.

Fibrous cyst of the chordae tendineae of the mitral valve: echocardiographic appearance and literature review.

Fibrous cyst of the chordae tendineae of the mitral valve (MV) is defined as a fibrous cyst arising from the chordae tendineae of the MV. It is extremely rare and its etiology is not clear. We present a case of a cystic structure within the left ventricle.

[Correspondence analysis of chinese medical constitution features in different ages population].

Objective: To explore the distribution features of Chinese medical constitutions in different ages population, thus providing scientific evidence of constitution process theory.

Methods: Recruited were 21 948 cases from a survey of Chinese medical constitutions and health conditions in 9 provinces or municipalities across China (including Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Beijing, Jilin, Jiangxi, and Henan) from Dec 2005 to Jan 2007. The body constitution type of individual was diagnosed using discriminant analysis on the basis of Chinese medical constitution questionnaire.

["Obesity paradox"-a phenomenon based upon the health-related outcome on quality of life].

The increase of body mass index (BMI) has already been recognized as one of the risk factors for many diseases. However, in patients with various diseases, data from large number of studies shows that when comparing with underweight and normal-weight patients, overweight and obesity have appeared better clinical prognosis, namely "obesity paradox". It has become one of the hot spots in domestic and foreign research areas of the sort.

Giant cell-rich osteosarcoma in long bones: clinical, radiological and pathological features.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the clinical presentation, imaging, pathology and outcome of patients with giant cell-rich osteosarcoma (GCRO) of long bones.

Materials And Methods: Radiography (n=9), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (n=6), computed tomography (CT) (n=3) and clinical course of nine patients (five males and four females; mean age, 26 years) with pathologically confirmed GCRO were retrospectively reviewed. Specific imaging findings, including size, eccentricity, ossification, lysis, cystic change, expansile growth, periosteal reaction, cortical destruction, soft tissue extension and joint involvement were documented.

Responsiveness of three subjective report of outcome measures for chronic heart failure.

Objective: To compare the responsiveness of a newly designed symptom scale, the Chinese Medical Symptom Rating Scale for Heart Failure (CMSRS-HF), with the Chinese version of Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) and the Medical Outcomes Study Short-form 36 (SF-36), and provide basis for the selection of subjective outcome measures for clinical evaluation of treatment of chronic heart failure by integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-six patients with chronic heart failure were recruited from three clinical centers and were treated with Chinese herbal medicine based on syndrome classification. The patients were classified with standard of New York Heart Association and evaluated with CMSRS-HF, MLHFQ and SF-36.

Primary diaphyseal osteosarcoma in long bones: imaging features and tumor characteristics.

Objective: This study aims to assess retrospectively the imaging features of diaphyseal osteosarcoma and compare its characteristics with that of metaphyseal osteosarcoma.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen pathologically confirmed diaphyseal osteosarcomas were reviewed. Images of X-ray (n=18), CT (n=12) and MRI (n=15) were evaluated by two radiologists.

[Approaches for developing a system model for health evaluation based on body constitutions of traditional Chinese medicine and order parameters].

From the point of view of systems science, human body can be considered as a complex system, and the human health system is a subsystem of it. Systems science conducts investigation in a holistic manner. As a theoretical method, it deals with the operation and evolution of systems from the macroscopic perspective, so this theory is similar to phenomenological theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in methodology.

Expressions of p53, c-MYC, BCL-2 and apoptotic index in human osteosarcoma and their correlations with prognosis of patients.

Background: Nowadays it remains a controversial issue whether a correlation exists between the apoptosis rate of tumor tissue and the prognosis of the patients. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationships of apoptotic genes and apoptotic index of osteosarcoma tissue to prognosis of the patients, meanwhile to explore the valid prognostic biomarkers of osteosarcoma that will enhance efficacy of clinical treatments for osteosarcoma.

Methods: In our studies, the immunohistochemical ABC and terminal DNA breakpoints in situ 3-hydroxy end labeling (TUNEL) techniques were used to detect the expressions of p53, c-MYC, BCL-2 and apoptotic index in 56 osteosarcoma specimens.

[Development of a patient-reported outcome scale for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and its clinical applicability].

Objective: To develop a patient-reported outcome (PRO) scale for patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (sCOPD) and to study its clinical applicability in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Methods: According to standardized procedures, the test version of PRO scale for sCOPD (sCOPD-PRO scale) was developed based on the theory of "unity of body and spirit" and was used to test 324 patients selected from six clinical centers. Five methods were used to analyze the items; the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the remaining items of the scale were evaluated.

[Stratified analysis of the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine constitutional types and health status in the general population based on data of 8,448 cases].

Objective: To examine the relationship between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutional types and health status among groups of different age or gender in the general population of China.

Methods: Data of 8 448 cases were randomly sampled from a database of 21 948 cases of a cross-sectional survey on the TCM constitutional types and health status which was carried out in 9 provinces or municipalities of China (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Beijing, Jilin, Jiangxi and Henan) according to gender and age structure of the Chinese population in 2005. Scores of health-related quality of life scale--the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS SF-36)--were analyzed by Nemenyi test to compare the health status of individuals with different constitutional types.

Primary clear cell sarcoma of the sacrum: a case report.

Clear cell sarcoma, first described by Enzinger in 1965, is an uncommon malignant soft tissue neoplasm that displays melanocytic differentiation. It occurs predominantly in the soft tissue of the extremities in young adults or children. Primary clear cell sarcoma of the bone is extremely rare, only seven cases have been reported to our knowledge.

[Logistic regression analysis on relationships between traditional Chinese medicine constitutional types and overweight or obesity].

Objective: To explore the relationships between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitutional types and overweight or obesity so as to provide evidence for adjusting constitutional bias and preventing and treating obesity.

Methods: The data comes from a cross-sectional survey on TCM constitution of 18 805 samples aged above 18 in Beijing and 8 provinces (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Jilin, Jiangxi and Henan) in China. The survey of TCM constitution was performed by standardized constitution in Chinese medicine questionnaire (CCMQ).

Prognostic factors and outcome of resected patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors of small intestine.

We document the clinical behavior of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the small intestine and identify predictors for long-term disease-free survival (DFS) for small intestine GIST patients. From December 2001 to 2008, 114 consecutive patients with mesenchymal tumors involving the small intestine were enrolled. There were 54 male and 60 female (50.

Expression of cortactin correlates with a poor prognosis in patients with stages II-III colorectal adenocarcinoma.

Background: The present study was designed to specifically investigate the clinicopathological role of expression of cortactin, as well as the correlation with clinical outcomes in stages II-III colorectal cancer (CRC).

Methods: Two hundred and five stages II-III CRC patients were included in this study. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens were stained for cortactin and the correlation between the staining, its clinicopathological parameters, and its prognostic power were analyzed statistically.

[Cytotoxicity of dichloroacetic acid in lymphocyte and expression of chemokine receptor CXCR2 and chemokine receptor CXCR3 mRNA].

Objective: To explore the effects of trichloroethylene (TCE) and its by-products (trichloroacetic acid, TCA; dichloroacetic acid, DCA) on the normal human peripheral blood lymphocyte and the role of DCA in dermatitis medicamentosa- like induced by trichloroethylene (DMLT).

Methods: Lymphocyte was isolated from peripheral venous blood, and cytotoxicity of human lymphocytes treated with different concentrations (0.02 approximately 30.

[Relationships between constitutional types of traditional Chinese medicine and hypertension].

Objective: To investigate the relationships between constitutional types of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and hypertension so as to provide epidemiological evidence for the theory of correlation between constitution and disease.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of TCM constitution data from a population of 7 782 from Beijng and 8 provinces of China (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Jilin, Jiangxi, and Henan) was made in the study. The survey of TCM constitutions was performed by standardized TCM Constitution Questionnaire.

[Study on the relationship between body mass index and health-related quality of life in middle-aged or older Chinese adults].

Objective: To study the association between body mass index (BMI) and the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the middle-aged and older Chinese people.

Methods: Data of 9539 middle-aged and older adults was collected from a cross-sectional survey performed in 9 provinces of China (Jiangsu, Anhui, Gansu, Qinghai, Fujian, Beijing, Jilin, Jiangxi and Henan province). MOS SF-36 was used to measure HRQOL.

First-pass perfusion computed tomography: initial experience in differentiating adrenal adenoma from metastasis.

Objective: To differentiate adrenal adenoma from metastasis in patients using perfusion computed tomography (PCT) imaging.

Methods: Thirty-two patients with adrenal masses underwent first-pass PCT imaging. Of these patients, twenty-one were diagnosed with adrenal adenoma, and the others with metastases.