Efficacy and safety of three adefovir-based combination therapies in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with suboptimal response to adefovir monotherapy.

Although high potent nucleos(t)ide analogues are strongly recommended as first-line therapy for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in China, some patients are still being treated with adefovir disoproxil (ADV), especially those low-income patients whose health insurance could not reimburse the drug cost. Therefore, the management of patients who have failed ADV therapy or who sustained renal damage during ADV therapy remains an important clinical problem in China. This retrospective study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of lamivudine (LAM), telbivudine (LdT) or entecavir (ETV) add-on strategies to optimize the treatment of patients with prior suboptimal response to ADV monotherapy. A total of 277 eligible patients were included in this study, and the baseline characteristics were similar among the LAM + ADV (n = 116), LdT + ADV (n = 72) and ETV + ADV (n = 89) groups. At week 96, both the proportion of undetectable HBV DNA (81.03% for LAM + ADV, 84.72% for LdT + ADV and 88.76% for ETV + ADV; P = .317) and ALT elevation (5.17% for LAM + ADV, 4.17% for LdT + ADV and 4.49% for ETV + ADV; P = 1.000) were similar among the three groups; also, a significant decline in liver stiffness was observed in each group from baseline to week 96. At week 96, the rate of HBeAg seroconversion was significantly higher in LdT + ADV than in LAM + ADV (26.39% vs 13.79%, P = .031) and ETV + ADV (26.39% vs 10.11%, P = .007). During the 96 weeks, no obvious renal injury was reported in any of the three groups, but an improvement in eGFR was found in LdT + ADV compared with LAM + ADV and ETV + ADV. In summary, all three combination strategies provide good control of virus replication, but the LdT + ADV combination therapy may yield better HBeAg seroconversion and eGFR improvement.

Is delayed micro-graft hair transplantation possible?--evaluation of viabilities of hair follicles preserved in two storage media.

BACKGROUND: Preservation of hair grafts for the purpose of delayed transplantation would allow use of thousands of hair grafts at one time. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the viabilities of hair follicle units preserved in DMEM and Ringer's solution at 0 degrees C for various periods. METHODS: Cell cultures and transplantation of hair follicle units into athymic mice were used. RESULTS: Outer root sheath cells could be cultivated in 95.8% of those follicles preserved in Ringer's solution, and in 86.7% of those preserved in DMEM culture medium (p < 0.01). In 84.5% of those preserved in Ringer's and 72.5% of those preserved in DMEM for 24 h, hair follicles grew well after implantation into an athymic mouse model (p < 0.05).

Posterior tibialis transfer for foot-drop due to leprosy: a case with 40 years follow up.

A 56-year-old male was transferred to our centre because of a relapse of leprosy neuritis in the hands. We found that the patient had received a posterior tibialis tendon transfer for correction of his left dropped foot 40 years previously. On examination active dorsiflexion of the left ankle joint was close to 0 degrees with grade 4 power of dorsiflexion, and the plantar flexion was about 35 degrees. Walking gait was almost normal. There were some scars on the plantar surface of the left metatarsal area; but with the continuous use of a soft dressing pad under the middle part of the sole, plantar ulceration has been avoided for many years even with active daily activities of the patient. The patient is very satisfied with the operative results.

[Application of molecular similarity method in the study of quantitative structure-retention relationship for reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography of drugs].

Molecular similarity method was applied to the study of quantitative structure-retention relationship (QSRR) for reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis of drugs. Based on a thorough and systematic study on the molecular structures of 162 drugs, molecular similarity method, which transformed molecular structure parameters to similarity variables, combined with artificial neural network for the study of QSRR for RP-HPLC. The good relationship module reflecting molecular structure, solvent strength and capacity factor was established. Molecular similarity method was successfully used to predict capacity factors (k') and the validation results of 7 drugs were satisfactory. The correlation coefficient of test samples was 0.996, and the residual standard error was 0.244(n = 18). The correlation coefficient of validation samples was 0.992, and the residual standard error was 0.131(n = 7). The application of molecular similarity method in the study of QSRR for RP-HPLC of drugs is satisfactory.

Modulan grip-aids for leprosy patients.

Made-to-measure Modulan grip-aids were fitted to 755 articles for 155 patients with hand deformities due to leprosy. The acceptance of the grip-aids was, in general, good. No instance of contact dermatitis or skin irritation was reported. These grip-aids facilitated a normal grip with crippled hands, and thus considerably improved the quality of the patient's personal and working life. They increased the patient's self-esteem and self-confidence because he/she could handle everyday objects or tools without the help of others and could do his/her job--an important step toward social and economic rehabilitation.

Study on the relation of Se, Mn, Fe, Sr, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ca to liver cancer mortality from analysis of scalp hair.

This project made use of Chongming Island, a high prevalence area for liver cancer, with an uneven geographical distribution, to study the relation between trace elements and high liver cancer incidence. A comparative study of Se, Mn, Fe, Sr, Pb, Zn, Cu and Ca contents of scalp hair of normal persons living in areas with different incidences of liver cancer, and a case-control investigation matched with sex and age were made. The selenium level is relatively low compared with other locations in China, which might indicate Se deficiency on the island. Iron and Mn show an obvious difference, indicating that the availability of these elements was less in the high cancer incidence part of the island than in the low incidence part. The hair iron content of patients with liver cancer is clearly lower than that of normal controls. Selenium, Mn and Fe should be taken into consideration in liver cancer prevention research.