Expert Consensus on Clinical Diseases Responding Specifically to Traditional Chinese Medicine：Aural Vertigo / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Aural vertigo frequently encountered in the otolaryngology department of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） mainly involves peripheral vestibular diseases of Western medicine， such as Meniere's disease， benign paroxysmal positional vertigo， vestibular neuritis， and vestibular migraine， being a hot research topic in both TCM and Western medicine. Western medical therapies alone have unsatisfactory effects on recurrent aural vertigo， aural vertigo affecting the quality of life， aural vertigo not relieved after surgery， aural vertigo with complex causes， and children's aural vertigo. The literature records and clinical practice have proven that TCM demonstrates unique advantages in the treatment of aural vertigo. The China Association of Chinese medicine sponsored the "17th youth salon on the diseases responding specifically to TCM： Aural vertigo" and invited vertigo experts of TCM and Western medicine to discuss the difficulties and advantages of TCM diagnosis and treatment of aural vertigo. The experts deeply discussed the achievements and contributions of TCM and Western medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of aural vertigo， the control and mitigation of the symptoms， and the solutions to disease recurrence. The discussion clarified the positioning and advantages of TCM treatment and provided guidance for clinical and basic research on aural vertigo.

Trends and influencing factors of endurance performance of Han college students in Hunan Province during 1985-2019 / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To analyze the trends and influencing factors of endurance performance of 19-22 years old college students in Hunan Province from 1985 to 2019, so as to provide objective and scientific basis for sports and health work in colleges and universities.@*Methods@#A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 14 490 college students aged 19-22 in Hunan Province from 8 consecutive National Student Physical Fitness and Health Surveys conducted from 1985 to 2019. The analysis indexes were 1 000 m running for boys and 800 m running for girls.@*Results@#From 1985 to 2019, the endurance running time of 19-22 years old Han college students in Hunan Province showed an obvious trend of decline. The 1 000 m running time of urban and rural male students increased by 41.9 and 45.4 s on average, and the 800 m running time of urban and rural female students increased by 29.5 and 30.6 s on average, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that age ( β =0.17), urban students (rural students as reference; β =0.44), GDP ( β =0.94) and urbanization level ( β = 0.44 ) were positively correlated with the average endurance running time of males. Urban students ( β =0.92), GDP ( β = 1.38 ) and Engel coefficient ( β =0.93) were positively correlated with the average endurance running time of females. BMI ( β =-0.47) was negatively correlated with the females mean time of endurance running ( P ＜0.05).@*Conclusion@#The endurance performance of Han college students in Hunan Province showed a declining trend from 1985 to 2019,which is associated with age, urban and rural distribution, regional GDP, Engel s coefficient, urbanization level and BMI. Effective measures should be taken to improve the physical quality of college students.

Persistent while declined neutralizing antibody responses in the convalescents of COVID-19 across clinical spectrum during the 16 months follow up

Elucidation the kinetics of neutralizing antibody response in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescents is crucial for the future control of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination strategies. Here we tested 411 sequential plasma samples collected up to 480 days post symptoms onset (d.a.o) from 214 convalescents of COVID-19 across clinical spectrum without re-exposure history after recovery and vaccination of SARS-CoV-2, using authentic SARS-CoV-2 microneutralization (MN) assays. COVID-19 convalescents free of re-exposure and vaccination could maintain relatively stable anti-RBD IgG and MN titers during 400[~]480 d.a.o after the peak at around 120 d.a.o and the subsequent decrease. Undetectable neutralizing activity started to occur in mild and asymptomatic infections during 330 to 480 d.a.o with an overall rate of 14.29% and up to 50% for the asymptomatic infections. Significant decline in MN titers was found in 91.67% COVID-19 convalescents with [≥] 50% decrease in MN titers when comparing the available peak and current MN titers ([≥] 300 d.a.o). Antibody-dependent immunity could also provide protection against most of circulating variants after one year, while significantly decreased neutralizing activities against the Beta, Delta and Lambda variants were found in most of individuals. In summary, our results indicated that neutralizing antibody responses could last at least 480 days in most COVID-19 convalescents despite of the obvious decline of neutralizing activity, while the up to 50% undetectable neutralizing activity in the asymptomatic infections is of great concern.

Viral shedding and immunological features of children COVID-19 patients

BackgroundSARS-CoV-2 could infect people at all ages, and the viral shedding and immunological features of children COVID-19 patients were analyzed. MethodsEpidemiological information and clinical data were collected from 35 children patients. Viral RNAs in respiratory and fecal samples were detected. Plasma of 11 patients were collected and measured for 48 cytokines. Results40% (14/35) of the children COVID-19 patients showed asymptomatic infections, while pneumonia shown by CT scan occurred in most of the cases (32/35, 91.43%). Elevated LDH, AST, CRP, neutropenia, leukopenia, lymphopenia and thrombocytopenia occurred in some cases, and CD4 and CD8 counts were normal. A total of 22 cytokines were significantly higher than the healthy control, and IP-10, IFN-2 of them in children were significantly lower than the adult patients. Meanwhile, MCP-3, HGF, MIP-1, and IL-1ra were similar or lower than healthy control, while significantly lower than adult patients. Viral RNAs were detected as early as the first day after illness onset (d.a.o) in both the respiratory and fecal samples. Viral RNAs decreased as the disease progression and mostly became negative in respiratory samples within 18 d.a.o, while maintained relatively stable during the disease progression and still detectable in some cases during 36~42 d.a.o. ConclusionCOVID-19 in children was mild, and asymptomatic infection was common. Immune responses were relatively normal in children COVID-19 patients. Cytokine storm also occurred in children patients, while much weaker than adult patients. Positive rate of viral RNAs in fecal samples was high, and profile of viral shedding were different between respiratory and gastrointestinal tract.

Risk assessment of progression to severe conditions for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia: a single-center retrospective study

BackgroundManagement of high mortality risk due to significant progression requires prior assessment of time-to-progression. However, few related methods are available for COVID-19 pneumonia. MethodsWe retrospectively enrolled 338 adult patients admitted to one hospital between Jan 11, 2020 to Feb 29, 2020. The final follow-up date was March 8, 2020. We compared characteristics between patients with severe and non-severe outcome, and used multivariate survival analyses to assess the risk of progression to severe conditions. ResultsA total of 76 (31.9%) patients progressed to severe conditions and 3 (0.9%) died. The mean time from hospital admission to severity onset is 3.7 days. Age, body mass index (BMI), fever symptom on admission, co-existing hypertension or diabetes are associated with severe progression. Compared to non-severe group, the severe group already demonstrated, at an early stage, abnormalities in biomarkers indicating organ function, inflammatory responses, blood oxygen and coagulation function. The cohort is characterized with increasing cumulative incidences of severe progression up to 10 days after admission. Competing risks survival model incorporating CT imaging and baseline information showed an improved performance for predicting severity onset (mean time-dependent AUC = 0.880). ConclusionsMultiple predisposition factors can be utilized to assess the risk of progression to severe conditions at an early stage. Multivariate survival models can reasonably analyze the progression risk based on early-stage CT images that would otherwise be misjudged by artificial analysis.

Evaluations of serological test in the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infections during the COVID-19 outbreak

The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 outbreak has killed over twenty-one thousand and sickened over four hundred thousand people worldwide, posing a great challenge to global public health. A sensitive and accurate diagnosis method will substantially help to control disease expansion. Here, we developed a chemiluminescence-immunoassay method based on the recombinant nucleocapsid antigen and the magnetic beads for diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections and surveillance of antibody changing pattern. Serums from 29 healthy individuals, 51 tuberculosis patients, and 79 SARS-CoV-2 confirmed patients were employed to evaluate the performance of this approach. Compared to the IgM testing, the IgG testing was more reliable in which it identified 65 SARS-CoV-2 infections from the 79 confirmed patients and only two false-positive cases from the 80 control group with a sensitivity and specificity reaching 82.28% and 97.5%, respectively. However, only a slight difference (not statistically significant) in the detected cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections was observed between the IgM and IgG testing manner in patients at a different time of onset of disease. A performance comparison between an ELISA kit using the same nucleocapsid antigen and our chemiluminescence method was undertaken. The same false-positive cases were seen in both methods from the paired control group, while ELISA kit can only detect half of the SARS-CoV-2 infections from paired SARS-CoV-2 confirmed patients group than that of the chemiluminescence method, indicating a higher performance for the chemiluminescence-immunoassay approach. Together, our studies provide a useful and valuable serological testing tool for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the community.

Exuberant elevation of IP-10, MCP-3 and IL-1ra during SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with disease severity and fatal outcome

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, December 2019, and continuously poses a serious threat to public health. Our previous study has shown that cytokine storm occurred during SARS-CoV-2 infection, while the detailed role of cytokines in the disease severity and progression remained unclear due to the limited case number. In this study, we examined 48 cytokines in the plasma samples from 53 COVID-19 cases, among whom 34 were severe cases, and the others moderate. Results showed that 14 cytokines were significantly elevated upon admission in COVID-19 cases. Moreover, IP-10, MCP-3, and IL-1ra were significantly higher in severe cases, and highly associated with the PaO2/FaO2 and Murray score. Furthermore, the three cytokines were independent predictors for the progression of COVID-19, and the combination of IP-10, MCP-3 and IL-1ra showed the biggest area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) calculations. Serial detection of IP-10, MCP-3 and IL-1ra in 14 severe cases showed that the continuous high levels of these cytokines were associated with disease deterioration and fatal outcome. In conclusion, we report biomarkers that closely associated with disease severity and outcome of COVID-19. These findings add to our understanding of the immunopathologic mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, providing novel therapeutic targets and strategy.

Laboratory diagnosis and monitoring the viral shedding of 2019-nCoV infections

BackgroundThe outbreak of novel coronavirus pneumonia (NCP) caused by 2019-nCoV spread rapidly, and elucidating the diagnostic accuracy of different respiratory specimens is crucial for the control and treatment of this disease. MethodsRespiratory samples including nasal swabs, throat swabs, sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were collected from Guangdong CDC confirmed NCP patients, and viral RNAs were detected using a CFDA approved detection kit. Results were analyzed in combination with sample collection date and clinical information. FindingsExcept for BALF, the sputum possessed the highest positive rate (74.4%[~]88.9%), followed by nasal swabs (53.6%[~]73.3%) for both severe and mild cases during the first 14 days after illness onset (d.a.o). For samples collected [≥] 15 d.a.o, sputum and nasal swabs still possessed a high positive rate ranging from 42.9%[~]61.1%. The positive rate of throat swabs collected [≥] 8 d.a.o was low, especially in samples from mild cases. Viral RNAs could be detected in all the lower respiratory tract of severe cases, but not the mild cases. CT scan of cases 02, 07 and 13 showed typical viral pneumonia with ground-glass opacity, while no viral RNAs were detected in first three or all the upper respiratory samples. InterpretationSputum is most accurate for laboratory diagnosis of NCP, followed by nasal swabs. Detection of viral RNAs in BLAF is necessary for diagnosis and monitoring of viruses in severe cases. CT scan could serve as an important make up for the diagnosis of NCP. FundingNational Science and Technology Major Project, Sanming Project of Medicine and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphism of IL-6 gene with susceptibility to hepatitis B virus / 中华实验和临床病毒学杂志

Objective@#Leukocyte mediated IL-6 (IL-6) plays an important role in chronic viral hepatitis pathogenesis and related liver diseases, We did a large sample-size case-control study and clinical data analysis to find association between IL-6 single nucleotide polymorphism and HBV susceptibility, and to achieve the detection of the body on the expression of IL-6 for the prevention and treatment of HBV infection.@*Methods@#Totally 848 HBV patients and 894 healthy controls in Shenzhen were selected and rs1800796 genotypes were determined by TaqMan assays.@*Results@#The result showed that rs1800796 polymorphism was associated with susceptibility to HBV infection (P=0.0003, odds ratio (OR)=1.43, the difference was statistically significant.@*Conclusions@#The single nucleotide polymorphism of IL-6rs1800796 locus was associated with the susceptibility of HBV infection in Chinese population, and the rs1800796 G allele is a protective gene for HBV infection.

Cross-sectional survey and analysis of cleaning quality of dental handpieces in Suzhou City / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To explore the cleaning status and cleaning quality of dental handpieces in various types of medical institutions in Suzhou City.Methods On October 26-31, 2015, dental clinics in the whole city were sampled according to cross-sectional survey and proportional sampling method, the cleaning quality of dental handpieces in each clinic was detected by ATP bioluminescence assay.Results 72 medical institutions, 201 handpieces, 402 samples in 10 administrative regions of the city were sampled, 42 samples was unqualified, unqualified rate was 10.45％, unqualified rate of cleaning of dental handpiece surface was higher than waterline of dental handpiece(17.91％ vs 2.99％, P<0.05).Cleaning quality of dental handpieces in different grades of medical institutions was different(P<0.05), tertiary medical institutions were all ualified, medical institutions without grade was 14.45％.According to the classification based on name of different medical institutions, cleaning quality of handpieces was statistically significant(P<0.05), cleaning efficacy of dental handpieces in department of stomatology of public hospitals was best(unqualified rate was 4.31％), while private dental clinics had the worst cleaning efficacy(unqualified rate was 13.81％).Conclusion Education and training of dental handpieces cleaning in the whole city should be strengthened, especially the management of cleaning of dental handpieces in low grade and private dental clinics.

Study of sequential strategy for hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with suboptimal early response to Peg-interferon-α / 中国基层医药

Objective To investigate the efficacy of entecavir (ETV) sequential therapy in the treatment of hepatitis B e antigen(HBeAg) positive chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients with suboptimal early response to Peginterferon-α(Peg-IFN-α).Methods The cases of HBeAg-positive CHB who were treated with Peg-IFN-α for 12 to 24 weeks and serum HBsAg ＞ 20 000 IU/mL were enrolled into observation group.Treatment naive HBeAg positive CHB with serum HBsAg ＞ 20 000IU/mL were enrolled into control group.Both two groups received ETV for 96 weeks.Hepatitis B virus (HBV) virological and serological data were collected every 12 weeks.Results At the end of 48-week and 96-week,the rates of HBeAg seroconversion in the observation group were 23.3％ (10/43),30.2％ (13/43),respectively,which in the control group were 23.1％ (12/52),28.8％ (15/52),respectively.The HBsAg decline at 24-week was observed in both two groups.Conclusion Sequential strategy for patients with suboptimal early response to IFN is preferable.

Risk factors of surgical site infection in patients with colon or rectal cancer / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To investigate the occurrence and risk factors of surgical site infection(SSI)in patients with colon or rectal cancer.Methods Patients who were diagnosed with colon or rectal cancer and underwent emergency or elective surgery in a hospital between January 1,2008 and December 31,2013 were monitored prospectively.General data,operation condition,and antimicrobial use of patients were analyzed,occurrence of SSI was observed every day and followed up after operation,risk factors of SSI were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results A total of 694 patients with colon cancer(n=380)or rectal cancer(n=314)were monitored,SSI occurred in 125 patients,including 15 incisional infection and 110 organ/space infection,incidence of SSI was 18.01%;incidence of SSI in colon cancer patients and rectal cancer patients were 17.11%(65/380)and 19.11%(60/314)respectively.Univariate analysis showed that among colon cancer patients,incidence of SSI was higher in those with co-infection of other sites during perioperative period,underlying diseases,phase Ⅰcancer,and relaxation suture(all P2 hours,stoma,drainage,relaxation suture,rinsing during operation,and use of antimicrobial agents>72 hours(all P<0.05);logistic regression analysis showed that the independent risk factors for SSI in colon cancer patients were underlying disease,co-infection of other sites during perioperative period,and relaxation suture(all P<0.05);independent risk factors for SSI in rectal cancer patients were underlying disease,co-infection of other sites during perioperative period,and stoma(all P<0.05).Conclusion Prevention and control measures should be taken according to risk factors of SSI in patients undergoing colon cancer and rectal cancer surgery,especially those who with chronic underlying diseases and other site infection during perioperative period;in addition,patients with colon or rectal cancer should also pay attention to relaxation suture and stoma respectively.

Analysis on Tn17/Treg cells in patients with pelvic tuberculousis / 临床检验杂志

Objective To investigate the cellular immunologic response of TH 17/Treg cells in the peripheral blood of pelvic tuberculosis patients and explore their roles in the pathogenesis of pelvic tuberculosis.Methods The intracellular flow cytometry was performed to evaluate the expressions of TH 17 and Treg cells in 46 pelvic tuberculosis patients and 25 healthy controls in childbearing age.Twenty-eight of the 46 pelvic tuberculosis patients were followed up to monitor the variation of the TH17/Treg cells after 3 months and 6 months of anti-tuberculosis treatment.Results The percentage of TH 17 cells in the peripheral blood of pelvic tuberculosis patients was (3.26 ± 1.30) ％ which was significantly lower than that of healthy controls [(4.92 ± 1.71) ％,P ＜ 0.01].The percentage of Treg cells in the patients was (5.18 ± 1.53) ％ which was significantly higher than that of healthy controls [(3.26 ± 1.10) ％,P ＜ 0.01].The percentage of TH17 cells in the pelvic tuberculosis patients after 6 months of treatment was (4.67 ± 1.75) ％ which was significantly higher than that in the patients before treatment and after 3 months treatment [(3.26 ± 1.30) ％,P ＜ 0.01 and (3.70 ± 1.06) ％,P ＜0.01,respectively].The percentage of Treg cells in pelvic tuberculosis patient after 6 months of treatment was (3.93 ±0.94)％ which was significantly lower than that in the patients before treatment and after 3 months of treatment [(5.18 ± 1.53)％,P ＜0.01 and (4.94 ± 1.51) ％,P ＜ 0.01,respectively].The percentage of Treg cells in the patients after 6 months of treatment was still significantly higher than that of controls (P ＜ 0.05).The TH 17/Treg ratio before treatment was significantly lower than that of healthy controls (P ＜ 0.01),and the TH 17/Treg ratio was increased after 3 months of treatment but it did not show significant difference compared with that before treatment.The TH 17/Treg ratio after 6 months of treatment (1.18 ± 0.34) ％ was significantly increased in contrast to those after 3 months of treatment and before treatment [(0.77 ± 0.21) ％,P ＜ 0.01 and (0.55 ± 0.13) ％,P ＜ 0.01,respectively].The TH 17/Treg ratio could not rise to the normal level even after 6 months of treatment.Conclusion Both the TH 17 and Treg cells may involve in the immunologic responses of pelvic tuberculosis patients and the imbalance of TH1T/Treg cells may remain persistently.

Relevant influential factors for cleaning quality of dental handpieces / 中国感染控制杂志

Objective To understand the cleaning quality of dental handpieces in Suzhou City, analyze the relevant factors that influencing cleaning effect.Methods A cross-sectional study was performed with the proportional system sampling method, questionnaires were adopted to investigate the cleaning location, cleaning method and process of dental handpieces, the ATP fluorescence detection method was conducted to detect cleaning quality.Results In 10 administrative regions of this city, a total of 72 medical institutions were selected, 25 were public medical oral diagnosis and treatment institutions, 47 were private clinics.Cleaning effect of automatic handpiece cleaning machine was better than traditional manual cleaning (unqualified rate :3.95% vs 11.96%, P0.05).The quality of cleaning of handpieces could be improved if waiting time of cleaning ≤30 minutes, enzymes were used during cleaning, and purified water was used at the end rinse(all P<0.05);whether there was drying process and used lubricant, difference were both not significant.Conclusion Using automatic handpiece cleaning machine, cleaning personnel with adequate knowledge, cleaning waiting time ≤30 minutes, enzyme use during the cleaning process, and purified water use at the end rinse can improve the quality of cleaning of dental handpieces.

Effect of treatment of allergic rhinitis on quality of life in patients with asthma / 中国耳鼻咽喉头颈外科

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of the treatment of allergic rhinitis on the quality of life of patients with bronchial asthma.METHODS Fifty-three patients with moderate-severe allergic rhinitis and mildmoderate asthma were included in this study and all of them had not yet received treatment for allergic rhinitis.There were 20 males and 33 females with an age ranged from 18 to 76 years.They had been treated with Salmeterol/Fluticasone propionate(seretide) 50/100 μg twice a day and combined with Ventolin if needed.On this basis,they were treated with loratadinel0 mg and Fluticasone proplonate nasal spray 200 micrograms once daily for 12 weeks.The visual analog scale,the asthma control test and Juniper's asthma quality of life questionnaire were recorded before and after treatment.RESULTS After treatment of allergic rhinitis,the rate of full asthma control was 28％,the rate of partial asthma control was 63％,and the rate of uncontrolled asthma was 9％.There was a significant improvement in asthma control after treatment of allergic rhinitis(P＜0.05).The scores after treatment were higher than that before treatment in all dimensions of asthma quality of life questionnaire(P＜0.01).CONCLUSION Allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma are two closely related diseases,treatment of allergic rhinitis is benefit to bronchial asthma control and can improve the quality of life of the patients.

Fatigue in patients receiving maintenance dialysis: a review of influence factors andinterventions / 中国实用护理杂志

Fatigue is commonly experienced in patients with advanced kidney disease and associated with poor outcomes. The purpose of this review was to discuss the prevalence, assessment methods and contributing factors of fatigue in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and also examined possible interventions to improve fatigue and concludes by defining some future research directions.

Current status of cleaning and disinfection of digestive endoscopes in medi-cal institutions in Suzhou City / 中国感染控制杂志

cleaning and disinfection.Results All 28 surveyed medical institutions had separate endoscope disinfection rooms, 89.29% of which had integrated endoscopic cleaning station,17.86% had automatic endoscope washer/disinfector;100% used multi-enzymatic detergent,chose the right disinfectant,monitored disinfectant concentration every day, and implemented standard disinfection time.But only 39.29% changed multi-enzymatic detergent for each endo-scope,cleaning and disinfection personnel in 78.57% of medical institutions wore personal protective equipment correctly.77 digestive endoscopes were detected,the qualified rate was 88.31%.Conclusion Cleaning and disin-fection management of digestive endoscope in secondary and above medical institutions in Suzhou City is generally standardized,there are still some problems in the manipulation procedures,relevant national regulations should be strictly complied with,efficacy of cleaning and disinfection of digestive endoscope should be further improved.

Allele-31 C>T regulates binding activity to IL-1βgene promoter of nuclear transcription factor C/EBPβand PU.1 induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection / 中华临床感染病杂志

Objective To investigate the effects of allele-31 C>T on the binding activity to IL-1βpromoter of the nuclear transcription factor C/EBPβand PU.1 induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.Methods The electrophoretic mobility shift assay ( EMSA) was performed to explore whether the nuclear transcription factor C/EBPβand PU.1 could bind to -31 region in IL-1βpromoter.The C/EBPβ-and PU.1-expressing vectors were constructed and co-transfected into HeLa cells with IL-1βpromoter luciferase vector.The expression of C/EBPβand PU.1 was confirmed using Western blotting assay, and the promoter activity was determined using Dual-Glo Luciferase system under various transfection conditions. Lentivirus-mediated RNA interference was used to explore the effects of C/EBPβand PU.1 on IL-1βexpression.GraphPad Prism 5.0 was used for data analysis.Results EMSA results showed that both C/EBPβand PU.1 could bind to -31 region in IL-1βpromoter.Both C/EBPβand PU.1 induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection could increase IL-1βpromoter activity, especially for the -31 T allele (t=22.33 and 7.98,PT can induce IL-1βpromoter activity and gene transcription through regulation of binding activity to C/EBPβand PU.1 induced by Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Clinical diagnosis and treatment of allergic pharyngitis / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

Although the concept of united airway disease has been widely accepted, most scholars emphasize only the effect of rhino-sinusitis while ignoring the pharyngeal factors to the lower airway, especially to the allergic pharyngitis (AP), which still lacks enough awareness. First of all, absence of unified diagnostic standard leads to the lack of epidemiological data, which, results in doctors' personal experience but no guideline in treatments. In addition, it is still not clear that the role of AP in the allergic airway diseases and its relationship with asthma. However, the number of patients with AP has been increasing obviously in daily clinic practice. Combined with the previous observation, this paper does a systematic review about the clinical problems of AP, expecting to give a hand to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of AP.

Involvement of MAPK signal transduction pathways in regulating the expression of glucocorticoid receptor isoforms in nasal polyp epithelia in vitro / 中华耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the upstream signal transduction mechanism responsible for the decrease of the ratio of the two glucocorticoid receptor (GR) subunits (GRα and GRβ) in nasal polyp in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The GRα/GRβ decrease cell model was established by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced human nasal epithelia (HNE) of nasal polyp in vitro. Changes in the protein and mRNA expression of GRα, GRβ and the key enzymes in the p38MAPK, ERK and JNK signal pathways were measured, respectively, before and after being induced with different doses of LPS and specific inhibitors of p38MAPK, JNK and ERK. SPSS 16.0 software (Analysis of variance, ANOVA) was used to analyze the data.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>With the LPS induction, the GRα/GRβ ratio declined in both a time-dependent manner and a concentration-dependent manner in HNE, which demonstrated the successful establishment of a GRα/GRβ decrease model in vitro. After cultured HNE were induced with the same set of LPS, the p38MAPK, ERK and JNK signal pathways were also activated. The mRNA expression of p38MAPK and JNK in each LPS-induced group (17.14 ± 1.50, 22.34 ± 2.78, 30.12 ± 1.07; 2.51 ± 0.13, 3.79 ± 0.67, 4.41 ± 0.83; 25.62 ± 1.77, 31.33 ± 1.97, 37.25 ± 2.46) was significantly higher than that (7.39 ± 0.31, 2.04 ± 0.34, 2.38 ± 0.35) in the control group (χ² value was 15.347, 18.331, 14.671, all P < 0.01). Either a specific inhibitor (SB203580) of the p38MAPK pathway or a specific inhibitor (SP600125) of the JNK pathway increased the GRα/GRβ ratio at the meantime of inhibiting their pathways. SB203580 exhibited a much stronger increase effect on GRα/GRβ ratio than SP600125. The specific inhibitors (PD98059) of ERK had no influence on the expression of GR isoforms.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The above results demonstrated that the decrease of GRα/GRβ ratio in HNE induced by LPS in vitro is mediated through the p38MAPK and JNK signal pathways. It is possible to improve the treatment effect of GC resistance in nasal polyp by targeting these specific signal pathways.</p>