Unreliable Estimation of Fibrosis Regression During Treatment by Liver Stiffness Measurement in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Introduction: Little reliable evidence has been reported regarding usefulness of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) for monitoring the hepatic fibrosis changes during treatment. We aimed to assess the association between changes in LSM and histological outcomes in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

Methods: In this prospective multicenter study, 727 treatment-naive patients receiving entecavir-based therapy, who underwent paired biopsies at treatment baseline and week 72, were analyzed.

Orbito-frontal cortex mechanism of inhibition of return in current and remitted depression.

Deficient inhibition of return (IOR) for emotional materials is an important cognitive biomarker of depression. However, its neural mechanism and role in depression remission remain largely unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), this study observed the neural foundation of inhibition of return in individuals with current (n = 30) and remitted (n = 27) depression and in healthy controls (n = 33), by using a cue-target task.

Matrine regulates Th1/Th2 cytokine responses in rheumatoid arthritis by attenuating the NF-κB signaling.

To investigate the efficacy and mechanisms of matrine, a component derived from Sophora flavescens in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a rat model of RA was established. Compared to control rats, matrine significantly mitigated inflammation and severity of RA (paw volume and articular index (AI) score). Using either mice splenic T cells stimulated with PMA/ionomycin or rat splenic T cells, the levels of Th1 and Th2 responses were determined by flow cytometry, quantitative RT-PCR, and ELISA.

Silencing of the ABCC4 gene by RNA interference reverses multidrug resistance in human gastric cancer.

The identification of genes associated with recurrent drug resistance in gastric cancer and the elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms associated with recurrent drug resistance in gastric cancer are important for the effective treatment and prognosis of this cancer. Variations in the expression level of the ATP-binding cassette subfamily C member 4 (ABCC4) gene are correlated with the recurrence, development and chemotherapeutic susceptibility of various types of cancers. In the present study, we demonstrated that the ABCC4 gene was highly expressed in multiple types of gastric cancer cells, and ABCC4 expression was even more prominent in the drug-resistant gastric cancer cells.

Vasoplegic syndrome during liver transplantation.

A 56-yr-old woman with chronic hepatitis B and decompensated hepatic cirrhosis was treated with liver transplantation. At the beginning of the neohepatic phase, her arterial blood pressure remained at 60/40 mm Hg for approximately 40 min and did not respond to vasoconstrictive drugs. Her other clinical and laboratory values remained normal, apart from a high cardiac output and low systemic vascular resistance.

[Effects of connective tissue growth factor antisense oligonucleotides on the cultured human keloid fibroblasts in vitro].

Objective: To explore the effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on the pathogenesis of human keloid.

Methods: CTGF antisense oligonucleotides (ASODN) conjugated with isothiocyanate fluorescence was encapsulated by liposome, and then added into the human keloid fibroblast (HKF) culturing media. The intracellular distribution of CTGF ASODN was observed with fluorescence microscopy in the fixed HKF.