[Significance of calcineurin activation and CD40L expression in patients with active lupus nephritis].

Aim: To investigate the significance of the calcineurin (CaN) activation in active lupus nephritis patient.

Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated from twenty-one active LN patients and 12 healthy controls. Phosphatase activity of CaN was determined using the CaN assay kit by measuring the content of released PO4.

Expression of albumin, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 in tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma patients with cirrhosis.

Aim: To explore the expression of albumin (ALB), insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-3 in tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with cirrhosis.

Methods: Twenty-four HCC patients with cirrhosis who underwent hepatectomy were studied. ALB mRNA, IGF-1 mRNA, and IGFBP-3 mRNA in liver tissues (including tumor tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues) were detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Rescue and treatment of severely injured lower extremities.

Objective: To explore a treatment approach for severely injured lower extremities.

Methods: The data of 42 patients with severely traumatic lower extremities from 1989 to 1999 were retrospectively reviewed. According to MESS (mangled extremity severity score) the mean score of all the limbs was 6.

Bladder transitional cell carcinoma: correlation of contrast enhancement on computed tomography with histological grade and tumour angiogenesis.

Aim: To investigate the correlation between the degree of contrast enhancement of bladder cancer in the early enhanced phase of helical computed tomography (CT) and microvessel density (MVD), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and histological grade.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-five patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder were examined by incremental unenhanced CT and helical CT at 40-45 s after initiation of intravenous administration of contrast medium before surgery. The CT density in Hounsfield units of bladder carcinomas were measured in the middle of the maximum diameter section of the cancer lesions on unenhanced and enhanced CT.

[Comparison of pelvic transarterial chemoembolization with lipiodol ultra-fluid carboplatin and transarterial carboplatin through experiment in dogs].

Background & Objective: Transarterial chemoembolization, based on transarterial chemotherapy, is a new treatment for malignant neoplasms. This study was to investigate distribution of platinum (Pt) in blood and uterine tissue after infusing different carboplatin arterially.

Methods: Fourteen female dogs were randomly divided into 2 groups: embolizational group (group A, 7 dogs),and chemotherapy group (group B, 7 dogs).

Prevalence of subclinical hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients in China.

Aim: Subclinical hepatic encephalopathy (SHE) is a common complication of liver diseases. The aim of this study was to find out the normal value of psychometric test and to investigate the prevalence of SHE in Chinese patients with stabilized hepatic cirrhosis.

Methods: Four hundred and nine consecutive cirrhotic patients without overt clinical encephalopathy were screened for SHE by using number connection test part A (NCT-A) and symbol digit test (SDT).

[The effect of proton pump inhibitor on intragastric acidity and it relation to S-mephenytoin hydroxylase genetic polymorphism].

Objective: To study the effect of proton pump inhibitor rabeprazole (Rab) and omeprazole (Ome) on intragastric acidity and it relationship to S-mephenytoin hydroxylase (CYP2C19) genetic polymorphism.

Methods: Thirty duodenal ulcer patients were randomly divided into two groups. They were treated by the following strategies: Rab 10mg or Ome 20mg twice daily orally for two days.

Description and clinical treatment of an early outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Guangzhou, PR China.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), now known to be caused by a coronavirus, probably originated in Guangdong province in southern China in late 2002. The first major outbreak occurred in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, between January and March 2003. This study reviews the clinical presentation, laboratory findings and response to four different treatment protocols.

The link between psychosocial factors and functional dyspepsia: an epidemiological study.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of functional dyspepsia (FD) and the psychological disorders in Chinese population and their relation.

Methods: A total of 1016 apparently healthy people (study population) randomly selected from population were interviewed. A general questionnaire, Zung self-rating depression scales (SDS), and anxiety scales (SAS) were given to each subject.

Colloidal bismuth pectin: an alternative to bismuth subcitrate for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori--positive duodenal ulcer.

Background: Bismuth triple therapy provides consistently good results in Helicobacter pylori eradication worldwide, whereas quadruple therapy using a combination of omeprazole and bismuth triple regimen has produced cure rates in excess of 90%. The prevalence of metronidazole-resistant strains was 26.8% in our area.

[The change of platelet number in patient with acute myocardial infarction and its clinical significance].

Platelet number and alpha-granule membrane protein (GMP-140) level on platelet surface were determined in 20 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 20 normal subjects. The results showed that platelet number decreased significantly after AMI, especially on the second day after onset and that the level of GMP-140 increased rapidly after AMI and reached a peak on the second after the attack. Both returned to the normal on the 5-7th day after the heart attack.