A combination of thalidomide and arsenic trioxide is effective and well tolerated in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes.

Twenty-two patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were treated with thalidomide plus arsenic trioxide (ATO). Twenty-two MDS patients receiving supportive care were used as controls. The remission was achieved in 4 patients (18.

[Utility of nickel-titanium shape memory alloys of vertebral body reduction fixator with assisted distraction bar].

Objective: To test the nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) shape memory alloys of vertebral body reduction fixator with assisted distraction bar for the treatment of traumatic and osteoporotic vertebral body fracture.

Methods: A Ni-Ti shape memory alloys of vertebral body reduction fixator with assisted distraction bar was implanted into the compressed fracture specimens through vertebral pedicle with the radiographic monitoring to reduce the collapsed endplate as well as distract the compressed vertebral fracture. Radiographic film and computed tomographic reconstruction technique were employed to evaluate the effects of reduction and distraction.

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.

L-carnitine ameliorates cancer cachexia in mice by regulating the expression and activity of carnitine palmityl transferase.

Cancer cachexia is characterized by progressive weight loss with the depletion of adipose tissue and skeletal muscle. Impaired fatty acid oxidation mainly resulting from the decrease of carnitine palmitoyltransferase I and II activities in the liver is an important factor that contributes to cancer cachexia . Although recent studies suggest a potential application of L-carnitine in treatment of cancer cachexia, the underlying mechanisms are unknown.

The ameliorating effect of rosiglitazone on experimental nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is associated with regulating adiponectin receptor expression in rats.

Although nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is associated with insulin resistance partly due to reduced levels of circulating adiponectin, the role of adiponectin receptors including adiponectin receptor 1 and adiponectin receptor 2 in adipose tissues in NASH remains controversial. The present study showed that there was a marked decline in adiponectin receptor 1 and adiponectin receptor 2 expressions in liver and visceral fat, and these expressions were elevated in muscle of NASH rats 12weeks after oral administration of a high-fat diet. An 8-week continuous treatment with rosiglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors γ (PPAR γ) agonist improved the histological lesions markedly in liver of NASH rats, and concurrently increased mRNA and protein expressions of adiponectin receptor 1 and adiponectin receptor 2 in liver and visceral fat, with down-regulation of the two receptors in muscle.

Continuous administration of low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisone as a salvage treatment for multiple myeloma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of continuous low-dose cyclophosphamide and prednisone (CP) as a salvage therapy for multiple myeloma (MM).

Patients And Methods: A total of 27 consecutive patients with MM received a treatment regimen that consisted of oral cyclophosphamide 50 mg and prednisone 15 mg daily. Nineteen patients had severe comorbid conditions; 8 were unwilling to continue conventional chemotherapy as a result of severe infection associated with the conventional chemotherapy.

Effect of early pregnancy on a previous lower segment cesarean section scar.

Objective: To summarize the manifestation, diagnosis, and early management of early pregnancy on a previous cesarean section scar.

Method: Fifteen cases of early pregnancies implanted on previous cesarean section scars were diagnosed and treated in two obstetrical centers.

Results: The 15 patients had light, painless vaginal bleeding and their serum beta-subunit human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG) was elevated.

Complication of cesarean section: pregnancy on the cicatrix of a previous cesarean section.

Objective: To probe into the clinical manifestation, diagnosis, as well as treatment of pregnancy on the cicatrix of a previous cesarean section at the uterine isthmus in the first trimester.

Methods: Analysis of 14 patients with pregnancy on the cicatrix of a previous cesarean section at the uterine isthmus in the first trimester was made after conservative treatment by drugs from January 1996 to December 1999.

Results: The 14 patients with a pregnancy on the cicatrix of a previous cesarean section at the uterine isthmus in the first trimester were painless, had slight vaginal bleeding, and concurrently had increased serum beta-subunit human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-HCG).

The relation of parathyroid function to pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Parathyrin (PTH) and calcitonin were measured with radioimmunoassay in 39 cases of pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) in late pregnancy, 76 cases in normal early pregnancy and 278 cases in late pregnancy without PIH. Markedly increased PTH was noted in the women in late pregnancy, indicating the state of secondary hyperparathyroidism. PTH values in the women in late pregnancy with PIH were higher than those in the normal early pregnancy group, but lower than those in the women in late pregnancy without PIH.