Objective To investigate the effects of matrine on cell proliferation and expression of connective tissue growth factor( CTGF) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α( HIF-1α) of human lung fibroblast ( WRC-5) in normoxia ( 21% O2, 74% N2 , 5% CO2 ) and hypoxia ( 1% O2, 94% N2 , 5% CO2 )conditions. Methods MRC-5 cells were cultured and divided into differrent groups interfered with different dose of Matrine ( final concentration of 0 ～3. 2 mmol / L) in normoxia or hypoxia for 24 h. Cells were dividedinto 8 groups according to culture conditions, ie. normoxiagroup( N0 group) , normoxia + matrine 0. 2 mmol / L group( N0. 2 group) , normoxia + matrine 0. 4 mmol / L group( N0. 4 group) , normoxia + matrine 0. 8 mmol / L group( N0. 8 group) , hypoxia group( H0 group) , hypoxia + matrine 0. 2 mmol /L group( H0. 2 group) , hypoxia +matrine 0. 4 mmol /L group( H0. 4 group) , and hypoxia + matrine 0. 8 mmol / L group( H0. 8 group) . The MTT assay was used to measure the cell proliferation activity. Western-blot assay was used to examine the expression of CTGF and HIF-1α. Results Hypoxia promoted the cell proliferation in all groups( P lt;0. 05) .Matrine inhibited the proliferation of WRC-5 cells in a concentration-dependent manner in hypoxia or normoxia conditions( P lt;0. 05) . The expression of CTGF andHIF-1αwas lower in normoxia and higher in hypoxia( P lt;0. 01) . Matrine inhibited the expression of CTGF and HIF-1αin a concentration-dependent manner in hypoxiaand normoxia( P lt;0. 05) . Conclusion Matrine can inhibit the cell proliferation and the expression of CTGF and HIF-1αof WRC-5 cells in normoxia and hypoxia in a concentration-dependent manner.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia in clinical practice, and catheter ablation has become a first-line treatment strategy. Among them, cryoballoon ablation has become a standardized treatment for atrial fibrillation due to its advantages such as short surgical time, short learning curve, and minimal patient pain. Currently, a large amount of clinical practice and research have provided new evidence for cryoballoon ablation as a first-line treatment for atrial fibrillation. Therefore, this article provides a review of the current status of catheter ablation, the current status, challenges faced, and prospects as a first-line catheter ablation strategy for atrial fibrillation of cryoballoon ablation, with the aim of providing reference for cardiologists in clinical decision-making in the initial rhythm control of atrial fibrillation.
ObjectiveBased on real-word data, and compared with two common chronic respiratory diseases, interstitial lung disease (ILD) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this case-control study plans to investigate the risk factors and clinical characteristics of patients with combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema syndrome (CPFE).MethodsA retrospective case-control study was carried out to screen the clinical data of 96 patients with CPFE, 133 patients with COPD and 164 patients with ILD, analyze their demographics, clinical data, complications and related clinical indicators. Univariate analysis was used to compare the differences among the three groups, and multivariate logistic analysis was used to screen for risk factors.ResultsAll three groups were in old age with the average age of above 71 years. In terms of male ratio and smoking rate, the CPFE group (93.8%, 85.4%) was higher than the ILD group (75.0%, 64.0%), but there was no significant difference when compared with the COPD group (90.2%, 82.0%). Regarding comorbid disease, the proportion of connective tissue disease (CTD) in the CPFE group (10.4%) and the ILD group (13.4%) was higher than that in the COPD group (1.5%). The proportion of hyperlipidemia in the CPFE group (8.3%) was higher than that in the COPD group (1.5%) and the ILD group (1.2%). There were differences in the abnormal proportion of antinuclear antibody among the three groups, but no significant difference was found when compared with the CPFE group alone. The CPFE group (46.9%, 12.5%) and the ILD group (54.9%, 9.8%) were significantly higher than the COPD group (34.6%, 2.3%) in terms of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) abnormal proportion and cancer rate. In terms of the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension, the CPFE group (41.7%) > the COPD group (33.1%) > the ILD group (32.9%) was shown, but no statistical significance was found among the three groups.ConclusionsMale and smoking are not only risk factors for COPD but also for CPFE. At the same time, the suffering of CPFE may be affected by immune factors and hyperlipidemia. The proportion of CPFE patients complicated with cancer and CEA abnormalities is higher than COPD patients. The severity of pulmonary hypertension in CPFE patients is significantly higher than the other two diseases.
Objective To explore predictive value of radiological indexes for hemorrhage in patients with portal hypertension. Methods The clinical data and radiological data of patients with portal hypertension accompanied with hepatitis B from June 2008 to June 2014 in the Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. Patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, portal vein thrombosis, or portal hypertension due to other causes, such as autoimmune hepatitis, pancreatitis, or hematological diseases were excluded. Results Ninety-eight patients were studied and subsequently divided into a hemorrhage group (n=57) and a non-hemorrhage group (n=41). There were no statistical differences in the clinical indexes such as the age, prothrombin time, serum albumin, serum creatinine, serum sodium, white blood cell count, and blood platelet count (P>0.05). However, the differences were statistically significant in the serum total bilirubin, hemoglobin, and liver function with theP values of 0.023, 0.000, and 0.039, respectively. For the radiological indexes, the hemorrhage was correlated with the diameter of posterior gastric vein (P=0.028 3) or grading of esophageal varices (P=0.022 1). Logistic procedure was used to construct the model with stepwise selection and finally the diameter of inferior mesenteric vein, diameter of posterior gastric vein, grading of esophageal varices, and diameter of short gastric vein were enrolled into this model. These indexes were scored, the risk of bleeding increased with increasing the points. Then the model was validated with 26 patients with portal hypertension from July 2014 to December 2014, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.884 9 by this radiological model. Conclusions A radiological scoring model is constructed including diameter of inferior mesenteric vein, grading of esophageal varices, diameter of posterior gastric vein, and diameter of short gastric vein, which might predict risk of hemorrhage in patients with portal hypertension. However, further protective study of large sample is needed to validate this model.