Objective To evaluate the accuracy and quality of diagnostic test of Electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (ECLIA) in detecting A-fetal protein (AFP) for the diagnosis of liver cancer in Chinese patients. Methods We searched Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBM, 1978 to 2005) and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1994 to 2005). Diagnostic tests of ECLIA in detecting AFP for the diagnosis of liver cancer were included. Data were extracted, and the quality of included studies was evaluated according to the six criteria of diagnostic tests. Results Forty-eight studies were identified, but only 6 were included and none mentioned the indices about the accuracy. Conclusion The number of studies of ECLIA in detecting AFP for the diagnosis of liver caner is few and the quality is poor. We cannot draw the conclusion that ECLIA is better for sensitivity and specificity.
Objective To investigate the modulating roles of Clara cell secretory 16 kD protein ( CC-16) , transcription factor T-bet, and GATA-3 in airway inflammation of patients with asthma. Methods 25 patients with acute exacerbation of asthma were enrolled as an asthma group and 33 healthy volunteers were enrolled as control. The plasma levels of CC16, IFN-γ, and IL-4 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ( ELISA) . The mRNA expressions of T-bet and GATA-3 in the peripheral bloodmononuclear cells ( PBMCs) were measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR) .Results The levels of CC16 and IFN-γin the asthma group were lower than those in the control group [ ( 21. 96 ±7. 31 ) ng/mL vs. ( 64. 88 ±25. 27) ng/mL, ( 118. 73 ±22. 59) pg/mL vs. ( 145. 53 ±29. 50) pg/mL, both P lt;0. 01] . The IL-4 level in the asthma group was significantly higher than that in the control group [ ( 425. 22 ±4. 37) pg/mL vs. ( 69. 72 ±10. 15 ) pg/mL, P lt; 0. 01] . The T-bet mRNA expression and T-bet /GATA-3 ratio of PBMCs in the asthma group were significantly lower than those in the control group( both P lt; 0. 01) . The expression GATA-3 mRNA was significantly higher than that in the control group( P lt;0. 01) . The level of CC16 was positively correlated with T-bet mRNA expression and the ratio of T-bet /GATA-3 ( r =0. 792, 0. 761, respectively, P lt; 0. 01) . There was no correlation between CC16 and the GATA-3 mRNA expression ( P gt;0. 05) . Conclusions These results suggest that CC16 and T-bet play important protection roles in the pathogenesis of asthma. GATA-3, IFN-γ, and IL-4 also participate in the airway inflammation of asthma.
Objective To study the effect of pravastatin on the survival of islet xenografts.MethodsPigtomouse islet transplantation was performed. The models were divided into 4 groups: group A (control); group B, treated with CsA; group C, treated with pravastatin; group D, treatment with combined CsA with pravastatin. The survival time (ST) of the grafts in each group were recorded. Histological examination was used to detect the inflammation and islet cells in the graft. The infiltrated cells were detected by immunohistochemistry with CD4+, CD8+ and CD68 monoclonal antibody. The serum NO was measured. RTPCR was used in the test of IFNγ mRNA.ResultsThe ST of group A,B,C,D was (6.2±0.82) d, (9.2±1.92) d, (7.2±1.30) d, (11.2±1.76) d respectively, the ST of group D was much longer than that of the other groups (P＜0.05).Compared to that in other groups, less infiltrated cell in group D was found. On the 4th postoperative day, the serum NO in group A was (105.0±19.3) mmol/L,significantly higher than that in group B 〔(88.20±21.04) mmol/L〕, in group C 〔(70.7±17.8) mmol/L)〕 and in group D 〔(56.30±16.4) mmol/L〕. When rejection occurred, the serum NO in group C and D was (83.7±10.6) mmol/L and (71.3±13.8) mmol/L, also lower than that in group A (P＜0.05), the serum NO in group B was (104.7±16.3) mmol/L, compared that in group A, no significance was present (Pgt;0.05）. On the 4th postoperative day, the serum expression of IFNγ mRNA in group D was 23.5±4.6, lower than that in group A (28.8±4.8), and no significance was present compared with that in group B and C. ConclusionPravastatin can abate the role of macrophages, especially combined with Cyclosporine, and can prolong the survival of islet xenograft.
Objective To determine the efficacy and safety of Amplatzer transcatheter closure and surgical closure for ostium secundum atrial septal defects. Methods MEDLINE (1966-July 2006), EMBASE (1966-July 2006), The Cochrane Library (Issue 2, 2006) and CBMdisc (1979-July 2006) were searched for randomized controlled trials or non-randomized controlled trials. Data were extracted by two reviewers using a specially designed extraction form. The quality of included trials was critically assessed. The Cochrane Collaboration’s RevMan 4.2 software was used for data analysis. Results Sixteen non-RCTs involving 2 043 patients were included. No deaths were reported in 14 trials. The other two trials reported one death respectively in the surgical group. Meta-analysis of 12 trials involving 1 722 patients showed that the procedure success rate for the Amplatzer group was lower than that for the surgical group [WMD:0.95, 95%CI (0.92,0.98)]. Similar results were also found in the complete closure rate in 24-hour follow-up [6 trials involving 1 106 patients, WMD:0.96, 95%CI (0.92 to 1.00)], the complication rate [16 trials involving 1 971 patients, WMD:0.27, 95%CI(0.21 to 0.35)] and the transfusion rate [14 trials involving 1 807 patients, WMD:0.03, 95%CI(0.02 to 0.06)]. Conclusions The success rate for Amplatzer device closure of ASD is lower than that of surgical repair. However, the complication rate, length of hospital stay and transfusion rate are lower or shorter for Amplatzer device closure than for surgical repair. Based on appropriate patient selection, Amplatzer closure of ASD is a safe and effective alternative to surgical repair.
Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) is widely used to record the electrical activity of patients' brain in clinical. The SEEG-based epileptogenic network can better describe the origin and the spreading of seizures, which makes it an important measure to localize epileptogenic zone (EZ). SEEG data from six patients with refractory epilepsy are used in this study. Five of them are with temporal lobe epilepsy, and the other is with extratemporal lobe epilepsy. The node outflow (out-degree) and inflow (in-degree) of information are calculated in each node of epileptic network, and the overlay between selected nodes and resected nodes is analyzed. In this study, SEEG data is transformed to bipolar montage, and then the epileptic network is established by using independent effective coherence (iCoh) method. The SEEG segments at onset, middle and termination of seizures in Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, and Gamma rhythms are used respectively. Finally, the K-means clustering algorithm is applied on the node values of out-degree and in-degree respectively. The nodes in the cluster with high value are compared with the resected regions. The final results show that the accuracy of selected nodes in resected region in the Delta, Alpha and Beta rhythm are 0.90, 0.88 and 0.89 based on out-degree values in temporal lobe epilepsy patients respectively, while the in-degree values cannot differentiate them. In contrast, the out-degree values are higher outside the temporal lobe in the patient with extratemporal lobe epilepsy. Based on the out-degree feature in low-frequency epileptic network, this study provides a potential quantitative measure for identifying patients with temporal lobe epilepsy in clinical.