Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by injection of sinomenine solid lipid nanoparticles under a fluorescence endoscopic laser confocal microscope / 中国中药杂志

A fluorescence endoscopic laser confocal microscope(FELCM) was used to direct the injection of sinomenine solid lipid nanoparticles(Sin-SLN) into the joint, and the in vitro effectiveness of Sin-SLN in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis(RA) was evaluated. Sin-SLN was prepared with the emulsion evaporation-low temperature curing method. The Sin-SLN prepared under the optimal conditions showed the encapsulation efficiency of 64.79%±3.12%, the drug loading of 3.84%±0.28%, the average particle size of(215.27±4.21) nm, and the Zeta potential of(-32.67±0.84) mV. Moreover, the Sin-SLN demonstrated good stability after sto-rage for 30 days. The rabbit model of RA was established by the subcutaneous injection of ovalbumin and complete Freund's adjuvant. Five groups were designed, including a control group, a model group, a Sin(1.5 mg·kg~(-1)) group, a Sin-SLN(1.5 mg·kg~(-1)) group, and a dexamethasone(positive drug, 1.0 mg·kg~(-1), ig) group. The control group and the model group only received puncture treatment without drug injection. After drug administration, the local skin temperature and knee joint diameter were monitored every day. The knee joint diameter and the local skin temperature were lower in the drug administration groups than in the model group(P<0.05, P<0.01). FELCM recorded the morphological alterations of the cartilage of knee joint. The Sin-SLN group showed compact tissue structure and smooth surface of the cartilage. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA) was employed to determine the serum le-vels of interleukin-1(IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α). The findings revealed that the Sin-SLN group had lower IL-1 and TNF-α levels than the model group(P<0.05, P<0.01). Hematoxylin-eosin(HE) staining was employed to reveal the pathological changes of the synovial tissue, which were significantly mitigated in the Sin-SLN group. The prepared Sin-SLN had uniform particle size and high stability. Through joint injection administration, a drug reservoir was formed. Sin-SLN effectively alleviate joint swelling and cartilage damage of rabbit, down-regulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines, and inhibited the epithelial proliferation and inflammatory cell infiltration of the synovial tissue, demonstrating the efficacy in treating RA.

Risk factors for elevated serum total bile acid in preterm infants / 中国当代儿科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the risk factors for elevated serum total bile acid (TBA) in preterm infants.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was performed for the clinical data of 216 preterm infants who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. According to the presence or absence of elevated TBA (TBA >24.8 μmol/L), the preterm infants were divided into elevated TBA group with 53 infants and non-elevated TBA group with 163 infants. A univariate analysis and an unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to investigate the risk factors for elevated TBA.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences between the elevated TBA group and the non-elevated TBA group in gestational age at birth, birth weight, proportion of small-for-gestational-age infants, proportion of infants undergoing ventilator-assisted ventilation, fasting time, parenteral nutrition time, and incidence of neonatal respiratory failure and sepsis (P<0.05). The unconditional multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that low birth weight (OR=3.84, 95%CI: 1.53-9.64) and neonatal sepsis (OR=2.56, 95%CI: 1.01-6.47) were independent risk factors for elevated TBA in preterm infants.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Low birth weight and neonatal sepsis may lead to elevated TBA in preterm infants.</p>

Analysis of survival rate and risk factors of liver retransplantation / 中华外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVES</b>To analyze the survival rate of orthotopic liver retransplantation (Re-OLT) and identify the variables predicting the outcome.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis of 74 Re-OLT patients from January 1999 to December 2005 was performed. The univariate analysis of Kaplan-Meier model was used to investigate the relativity between the factors and survival rate, and COX regression model was used in multivariate analysis to identify the prognostic factors for survival.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The total incidence rate of Re-OLT was 5.7%, and overall patient survival rates at 1 month, 3 month, 1 year and 2 year were 82.4%, 73.8%, 71.9% and 68.5%, respectively. There were 10 factors might influence the survival rate by Kaplan-Meier model, such as the period of Re-OLT, stage of hepatic encephalopathy, prothrombin time, total bilirubin, warm ischemia time, operative surgical procedure, quantity of blood lost during operation, days staying in the intensive care unit (ICU), infection and complications after Re-OLT. And three factors among them were identified as independent prognostic factors for survival by multivariate model: operative surgical procedure, days staying in the ICU and complications after Re-OLT.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The surgical procedure, duration in ICU and complications after Re-OLT are strong predictors for survival after Re-OLT.</p>