Preoperative oral carbohydrate improved postoperative insulin resistance in rats through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.

Background: Preoperative oral carbohydrate (OCH) improves postoperative insulin resistance (PIR) and insulin sensitivity. However, the exact mechanisms involved in the improvement of PIR with respect to preoperative OCH are still not clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of preoperative OCH and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway in reducing PIR in rats.

Association of blood pressure and coronary collateralization in type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic patients with stable angina and chronic total occlusion.

Objective: We investigated whether and to what extent blood pressure (BP) affects coronary collateralization in type 2 diabetic and nondiabetic patients with stable angina and chronic total occlusion.

Methods: Brachial BP was measured using an inflatable cuff manometer in 431 diabetic and 287 nondiabetic patients with stable angina and angiographic total occlusion of at least one major coronary artery. They were classified according to the SBP (<100, 100-119, 120-139, 140-159, 160-179, and ≥180 mmHg), DBP (<60, 60-69, 70-79, 80-89, 90-99, and ≥100 mmHg), and pulse (<40, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and ≥80 mmHg) BP ranges.

Allogeneic blood transfusion and the prognosis of gastric cancer patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion (ABT) may be a deleterious predictor on the prognosis of gastric cancer (GC) for subjects who had undergone curative surgeries. In this article we proposed to figure out the effect of ABT with a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: Relevant articles were identified by searching Pubmed and Embase to March 2014.

Pancreaticojejunostomy with double-layer continuous suturing is associated with a lower risk of pancreatic fistula after pancreaticoduodenectomy: a comparative study.

Background: Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Thus, a number of technical modifications regarding the pancreatoenteric anastomosis after PD have been proposed to reduce POPF rate. In this article we focused on evaluating whether the double layer continuous suture technique was better than the double layer interrupted suture technique in pancreatic-enteric anastomosis after PD.

Panobinostat plus bortezomib and dexamethasone versus placebo plus bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind phase 3 trial.

Background: Panobinostat is a potent oral pan-deacetylase inhibitor that in preclinical studies has synergistic anti-myeloma activity when combined with bortezomib and dexamethasone. We aimed to compare panobinostat, bortezomib, and dexamethasone with placebo, bortezomib, and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma.

Methods: PANORAMA1 is a multicentre, randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind phase 3 trial of patients with relapsed or relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who have received between one and three previous treatment regimens.

[Analysis of a pyruvate kinase deficiency consanguineous pedigree caused by Ile314Thr homozygous mutation].

Objective: To screen potential mutation and explore the underlying mechanism for a consanguineous pedigree featuring pyruvate kinase (PK) deficiency.

Methods: The red blood cell pyruvate kinase activities of all family members were detected. All the exons and intron-exon boundaries of the PKLR gene for the proband were amplified and analyzed by direct sequencing.

p38 MAPK-inhibited dendritic cells induce superior antitumour immune responses and overcome regulatory T-cell-mediated immunosuppression.

Dendritic cell (DC)-based cancer immunotherapy is a promising method, but so far has demonstrated limited clinical benefits. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) represent a major obstacle to cancer immunotherapy approaches. Here we show that inhibiting p38 MAPK during DC differentiation enables DCs to activate tumour-specific effector T cells (Teff), inhibiting the conversion of Treg and compromising Treg inhibitory effects on Teff.

Influence of laparoscopy vs. laparotomy on bacterial translocation and systemic inflammatory responses in a porcine model with peritonitis.

Background: This study aimed to compare the effects of laparoscopy vs. laparotomy on bacterial translocation and immunologic responses in a porcine model with peritonitis caused by small bowel injuries (SBIs).

Methods: Pigs with SBIs were first established, assigned into either the laparoscopy group or the laparotomy group, and then received surgical intervention.

New drugs and novel mechanisms of action in multiple myeloma in 2013: a report from the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG).

Treatment in medical oncology is gradually shifting from the use of nonspecific chemotherapeutic agents toward an era of novel targeted therapy in which drugs and their combinations target specific aspects of the biology of tumor cells. Multiple myeloma (MM) has become one of the best examples in this regard, reflected in the identification of new pathogenic mechanisms, together with the development of novel drugs that are being explored from the preclinical setting to the early phases of clinical development. We review the biological rationale for the use of the most important new agents for treating MM and summarize their clinical activity in an increasingly busy field.

International Myeloma Working Group recommendations for global myeloma care.

Recent developments have led to remarkable improvements in the assessment and treatment of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). New technologies have become available to precisely evaluate the biology and extent of the disease, including information about cytogenetics and genetic abnormalities, extramedullary manifestations and minimal residual disease. New, more effective drugs have been introduced into clinical practice, which enable clinicians to significantly improve the outcome of patients but also pose new challenges for the prevention and management of their specific side effects.

Depression in older patients with advanced colorectal cancer is closely connected with immunosuppressive acidic protein.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common tumors. CRC patients are susceptible to suffering from depression. Whether the immune system of CRC patients with depression is impaired or stimulated is controversial.

Myocardial remodeling in diabetic cardiomyopathy associated with cardiac mast cell activation.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a specific disease process distinct from coronary artery disease and hypertension. The disease features cardiac remodeling stimulated by hyperglycemia of the left ventricle wall and disrupts contractile functions. Cardiac mast cells may be activated by metabolic byproducts resulted from hyperglycermia and then participate in the remodeling process by releasing a multitude of cytokines and bioactive enzymes.

Surgical technique: Hemilaminectomy and unilateral lateral mass fixation for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Background: Surgical approaches for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) include anterior, posterior, or combined decompression with or without fusion. The goal of surgery is to decompress the spinal cord while maintaining the stability and sagittal alignment of the cervical spine. C5 palsy has been reported as a postoperative complication of cervical laminectomy or laminoplasty characterized as motor weakness of the muscles supplied with C5 nerve roots.

Is laparoscopy equal to laparotomy in detecting and treating small bowel injuries in a porcine model?

Aim: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of laparoscopy compared with laparotomy for diagnosing and treating small bowel injuries (SBIs) in a porcine model.

Methods: Twenty-eight female pigs were anesthetized and laid in the left recumbent position. The SBI model was established by shooting at the right lower quadrant of the abdomen.

Establishment and assessment of the perinatal mouse facial nerve axotomy model via a subauricular incision approach.

A reliable animal model of facial nerve (FN) injury forms the basis for effective scientific studies of injury and repair of the FN. Currently, rodents are the most widely used animal model for such studies, most of which adopt a postauricular incision approach. However, it is difficult to carry out the procedure on perinatal rodents owing to characteristics of anatomy and the direction of incision.

Antifungal susceptibilities of Cryptococcus species complex isolates from AIDS and non-AIDS patients in Southeast China.

Cryptococcus spp. are common causes of mycoses in immunocompromised patients. To determine the drug susceptibilities of clinical Cryptococcus spp.

Routine central neck dissection in differentiated thyroid carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective/hypothesis: The role of central neck dissection (CND) remains controversial in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

Study Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis focusing on surgical morbidities and locoregional recurrence after total thyroidectomy (TT) with CND versus TT alone was performed.

High level interleukin-6 in the medium of human pancreatic cancer cell culture suppresses production of neurotransmitters by PC12 cell line.

It has been suggested that pancreatic cancer is associated with a greater prevalence of depression than many other cancers, but the mechanism accounting for this potential association has not yet been illustrated. In the present study, conditioned media (CM) from three pancreatic cancer cell lines and primary pancreatic cancer cells from two patients were added to culture system of differentiated pheochromocytoma cell line PC12. The release of dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE) by PC12 was significantly inhibited after CM treatment (P < 0.

The biomechanical behavior and host response to porcine-derived small intestine submucosa, pericardium and dermal matrix acellular grafts in a rat abdominal defect model.

Several porcine-derived acellular biologic grafts are increasingly used in abdominal wall reconstruction due to the limitations of synthetic meshes in many clinical situations. However, relatively little is known so far about their comparative mechanical characteristics and performance after defect repair. We therefore investigated three most commonly used porcine-derived acellular biomaterials, small intestine submucosa (P-SIS), pericardium (P-PC) and acellular dermal matrix (P-ADM) immediately after prepared, and their effectiveness, biomechanical and histological characteristics in repairing full-thickness abdominal defect in a rat model.

Randomized clinical trial of vessel sealing system (LigaSure) in esophagogastric devascularization and splenectomy in patients with portal hypertension.

Background: The LigaSure vessel sealing system (Valleylab, Boulder, CO) has been tested, with excellent results, in different fields of surgery. However, no study has evaluated the efficiency of the LigaSure in open esophagogastric decongestion and splenectomy in a randomized trial to date.

Methods: Patients scheduled to undergo esophagogastric decongestion and splenectomy were assigned to the use of either the LigaSure or a conventional clamp-and-tie technique.

Spinal cord compression secondary to a thoracic vertebral osteochondroma.

The authors describe a case of spinal cord compression due to an osteochondroma arising from the T-6 vertebral body in a patient with hereditary multiple exostoses. This 16-year-old boy presented with spastic paraparesis. Surgical decompression was followed by resolution of the neurological impairments.

Solitary intracranial plasmacytoma located in the spheno-clival region mimicking chordoma: a case report.

Solitary intracranial plasmacytoma (SIP) is very rare. This case report presents serial findings of SIP located in the spheno-clival region in a 54-year old female who presented with an inferior hemianopia in the right eye and an enlarged physiological blind spot in both eyes. Based on the initial diagnosis of a spheno-clival region chordoma, the tumour was partially resected by the nasal-sphenoidal sinus approach.

Simultaneous blockade of costimulatory signals CD28-CD80 and CD40-CD154 combined with monoclonal antibody against CD25 induced a stable chimerism and tolerance without graft-versus-host disease in rat.

Background: The conditioning regimen to induce chimerism for immune tolerance is usually accompanied by high toxicity and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Our aim was to explore a nontoxic strategy for the induction of mixed chimerism by pretreatment with anti-CD25 monoclonal antibody (mAb), cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 immunoglobulin (CTLA4Ig) and anti-CD154 mAb.

Methods: A total of 30 Lewis recipient rats (RT1l) were randomly divided into control (A and B) and treated (C, D and E) groups.