Effect of Xuesaitong Soft Capsule (血塞通软胶囊) on Hemorrheology and in Auxiliarily Treating Patients with Acute Cerebral Infarction

Objective: To observe the therapeutic effect of Xuesaitong soft capsule(血塞通软胶囊, XST)and its effect on platelet counts, coagulation factor 1 (CF1) as well as hemorrheologic indexes in treating patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI). Methods: Two hundred and four patients with ACI were assigned into two groups, the control group (n=96) and the treated group (n=108). They were all treated with conventional Western medicines, including mannitol, troxerutin, citicoline, piracetam and aspirin, while to the treated group, XST was given additionally through oral intake, twice a day, 2 capsules each time for 8 successive weeks. The clinical efficacy was evaluated according to the nerve function deficits scoring and the changes of platelet count. CF1 and hemorrheological indexes were measured before and after treatment.Results: The total effective rate was 87.0% in the treated group, and 87.5% in the control group, respectively, showing insignificant difference between them. But the markedly effective rate in the treated group ( 66.7%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (27.1%, P<0.01). The count of platelet was not changed significantly in both groups after treatment, while CF1 in them evidently lowered at the end of the 4th and 8th weeks of treatment, but showed insignificant difference between the two groups. The hematocrit, whole blood viscosity and plasma viscosity in both groups were all improved significantly after treatment, but also showed insignificant difference in comparison of the two groups. Conclusion: XST has good efficacy in auxiliary treatment of patients with ACI, though its mechanism remains to be further explored.

Semaphorin 7a participants in pterygium by regulating vascular endothelial growth factor

AIM: To investigate the relationship between semaphorin 7a expression and cell proliferation and migration in pterygium fibroblasts. METHODS: Twenty-six patients with surgically diagnosed pterygium were enrolled, including 15 cases of primary pterygium and 11 cases of recurrent pterygium. In addition, 12 cases of normal conjunctival tissue were collected. The expression of semaphorin 7a in normal conjunctival tissue, primary pterygium and recurrent pterygium was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Recurrent pterygium fibroblasts were isolated and cultured, and the expression of semaphorin 7a was silenced by small interfering RNA(siRNA) interference technique. Furthermore, the effects of si-semaphorin 7a interference on the mRNA and protein levels of β1-integrin, vascular endothelial growth factor A(VEGFA) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor(VEGFR), and on fibroblast proliferation were analyzed. Transwell assay was used to detect the effect of semaphorin 7a interference on fibroblast migration. RESULTS: Semaphorin 7a was highly expressed in the primary pterygium and recurrent pterygium samples than that of the normal conjunctival tissue. Compared with the primary pterygium, the expression of semaphoring 7a in the recurrent pterygium samples was significantly increased(P<0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of β1-integrin, VEGFA and VEGFR were decreased after si-semaphorin 7a transfection, and as well as the cell proliferation and migration. CONCLUSION: Semaphorin 7a might play important roles in the pathogenesis of pterygium by affecting the expression of β1-integrin, VEGFA and VEGFR.

The diagnostic value of tumor abnormal protein and high sensitivity C reactive protein in screening for endometrial cancer with endometrial thickness less than 8 mm

Objective This study aimed to combine tumor abnormal protein(TAP) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) level detection to diagnose endometrial cancer in patients with endometrial thickness less than 8 mm, and to provide a reference for clinical screening and diagnosis. Methods Clinical data from 19 cases of endometrial cancer, diagnosed on the basis of pathological findings, were collected from September 2014 to December 2015. The inclusion criteria were as follows: the patients were first diagnosed with endometrial thickness less than 8 mm and were all in menopause. Perimenopausal patients(n = 26) with uterine fibroids seen during the same period were selected as a control group. Serum TAP and hs-CRP levels of the patients in the two groups were simultaneously determined on admission. Results We found that both TAP and hs-CRP levels in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group [(182.95 ± 72.14) μm^2 vs.(133.19 ± 55.18) μm^2, P = 0.019;(7.52 ± 19.03) mg/L vs.(1.66 ± 2.31) mg/L, P = 0.136]. The sensitivity of TAP for the diagnosis of endometrial cancer was 73.68%, the specificity was 69.23%, and the Youden index was 0.4291. The diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of hs-CRP was 15.79% and 100%, respectively, and the Youden index was 0.1579. After plotting the receiver operating characteristics curves, the optimal cut-off value for TAP in diagnosing endometrial cancer was found to be 160.662 μm^2 and that for hs-CRP was 1.07 mg/L. Conclusion For patients suspected of having endometrial cancer with endometrial thickness less than 8 mm, combined detection of TAP and hs-CRP levels can be used as a screening tool and can provide new ideas regarding clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Epidemiological and comparative genomic analyses of Multidrug- Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii collected between 2020 and 2022 in Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, China

The emergence and prevalence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii(MRAB)poses a huge challenge to clinical treatment.To investigate the genetic and epidemiologic characteristics of MRAB in Liaocheng,China,and to explore potential resistance mechanisms,56 MRAB strains were collected from the clinical departments of seven hospitals in Liaocheng between 2020 and 2022.Molecular typing,antimicrobial resistance patterns,and epidemiological characteristics were determined by genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis.Sequence type(ST)540 was the most prevalent ST of the 56 MRAB in Liaocheng,and most strains(92.86%)were grouped into CC92.Core genome multilocus sequence typing subdivided the strains according to the number of allelic differences and could distinguish different outbreaks caused by ST540 isolates in the hospitals.All the isolates harbored blaOXA-23 and blaADC-25,and at least 92.86%of the isolates were resistant to 10 antibiotics.The major MRAB epidemic clone detected in Liaocheng was ST540,which was different from the results reported in other regions in China.Furthermore,several inter-hospital transmissions of ST540 isolates were observed.The findings highlight the urgent need for effective nosocomial infection control measures and the continuous surveillance of ST540 MRAB in Liaocheng.