Genetic variations of HSD11B2 in hypertensive patients and in the general population, six rare missense/frameshift mutations.

Mutations in the gene encoding 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, HSD11B2, cause a rare monogenic juvenile hypertensive syndrome called apparent mineralocorticoid excess (AME). In AME, defective HSD11B2 enzyme activity results in overstimulation of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) by cortisol, causing sodium retention, hypokalemia, and salt-dependent hypertension. Here, we have studied whether genetic variations in HDS11B2 are implicated in essential hypertension in Japanese hypertensives and the general population. By sequencing the entire coding region and the promoter region of HDS11B2 in 953 Japanese hypertensives, we identified five missense mutations in 11 patients (L14F, n = 5; R74H, n = 1; R147H, n = 3; T156I, n = 1; R335H, n = 1) and one novel frameshift mutation (4884Gdel, n = 1) in a heterozygous state, in addition to 19 genetic variations. All genetic variations identified were rare, with minor allele frequencies less than 0.005. Four of 12 patients with the missense/frameshift mutations showed renal failure. Four missense mutations, L14F, R74H, R147H, and R335H, were successfully genotyped in the general population, with a sample size of 3,655 individuals (2,175 normotensives and 1,480 hypertensives). Mutations L14F, R74H, R147H, and R335H were identified in hypertensives (n = 6, 8, 3, and 0, respectively) and normotensives (n = 8, 12, 5, and 0, respectively) with a similar frequency, suggesting that these missense mutations may not strongly affect the etiology of essential hypertension. Since the allele frequency of all of the genetic variations identified in this study was rare, an association study was not conducted. Taken together, our results indicate that missense mutations in HSD11B2 do not substantially contribute to essential hypertension in Japanese.     

Zinc, calcium, and magnesium metabolism: effects on plasmacytomas in Balb/c mice

The effects of different amounts of dietary zinc on the Zn absorption rate and on Zn, calcium and magnesium concentrations in tissues of MOPC 104E tumor-bearing Balb/c mice were determined. The Zn absorption rate was inversely related to the amounts of Zn in their diets and was lower than that of nontumor-bearing control mice fed a laboratory mice chow. Zn concentrations of tumor-bearing mice were also low compared with control mice but tumor Zn concentrations, regardless of the concentrations of Zn in the diets, were higher than those of normal tissues of the host other than the pancreas. Ca concentrations in tumor and tissues of tumor-bearing mice were higher than in control animals but Mg concentrations in tissues of tumor-bearing mice appeared to be similar to those of control mice. Results suggest that tumor-bearing mice have a lower intestinal Zn absorption capacity and a higher Zn uptake rate causing other tissues to become hypozincemic and hypercalcemic.     

No impact of repeated endoscopic screens on gastric cancer mortality in a prospectively followed Chinese population at high risk.

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer (GC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths in China. Our study prospectively evaluated the impact of repeated endoscopic screens on GC mortality in a high-risk population in China. METHODS: Between 1989 and 1999, a population-based gastroscopic screening was conducted in 4,394 residents of Linqu County, China, a region with the highest rates of GC worldwide. Residents ages 35 to 64 years received initial gastroscopies with biopsies in 1989. Repeated endoscopies were performed in 1994 and 1999. Cancer occurrences and deaths were actively monitored throughout the entire period until July 2000. Mortality from GC was compared with expected values based on mortality rates obtained for Linqu in the 1990-1992 Chinese Cancer Mortality Survey. RESULTS: Between March 1989 and July 2000, 39,303 person-years were accumulated; 85 new GCs occurred, 29 (34.5%) were in early stage. Fifty-eight cases (68%) were identified at one of the screens. The number of observed deaths from GC (37) was close to the expected (36.8). The standardized mortality ratio was 1.01 (95% CI 0.72-1.37) for the entire cohort, 1.13 (95% CI 0.77-1.57) for males, and 0.65 (95% CI 0.26-1.32) for females. CONCLUSIONS: Despite high population coverage with repeated screens, no reduction in GC mortality was observed in this high-risk population in China.     

自制32P敷贴器治疗瘢痕疙瘩

目的：观察自制32P敷贴器局部敷贴治疗不同类型瘢痕疙瘩的临床疗效。 方法：105例瘢痕疙瘩患者中，39例病变厚度≤ 0.3 cm的行单纯敷贴治疗，病变厚度> 0.3 cm的66例随机分为2组，单纯敷贴组36例，手术+敷贴组30例。单纯敷贴根据病变表面积大小及形状剪取敷贴片，根据剂量率和衰变校正计算每天敷贴时间，直接贴于病变表面，每天4.0~5.0 Gy/(部位•次)，连续4 d为一疗程，每疗程间隔4周，总治疗4~6个疗程。幼儿单次剂量控制在每天4 Gy/(部位•次)以下。手术+敷贴组患者手术切除瘢痕疙瘩，待手术伤口无渗出后根据伤口形状剪取敷贴片对准伤口敷贴，剂量及疗程同单纯敷贴组。 结果：单纯敷贴治疗对病变厚度≤0.3 cm的39例瘢痕疙瘩治愈32例(82%)，总有效率98%；对病变厚度> 0.3 cm的瘢痕疙瘩单纯敷贴和手术+敷贴两组治疗总有效率分别为56%和93% ，两组差异有显著性意义(P < 0.01)，其中病程< 9个月的患者治疗有效率分别为25%和75%，病程较长患者治疗有效率分别为13%和77%。治疗过程中有26例在敷帖过程中出现局部皮肤烧灼和刺痛感，均以炉甘石洗剂局部外用处理后缓解；5例出现Ⅰ度放射性皮炎，2例出现Ⅱ度放射性皮炎，以百多邦软膏局部外用后缓解，无出现Ⅲ度以上放射性皮炎病例。治愈患者局部皮肤均有不同程度的色素沉着或皮肤颜色改变。 结论：32P敷贴治疗瘢痕疙瘩治疗安全有效，对病程较短或病变厚度小于0.3 cm的患者可单纯敷贴治疗，病程较长或病变厚度大于0.3 cm患者建议先手术后再敷贴治疗。     

Working‐correlation‐structure identification in generalized estimating equations

Selecting an appropriate working correlation structure is pertinent to clustered data analysis using generalized estimating equations (GEE) because an inappropriate choice will lead to inefficient parameter estimation. We investigate the well‐known criterion of QIC for selecting a working correlation structure, and have found that performance of the QIC is deteriorated by a term that is theoretically independent of the correlation structures but has to be estimated with an error. This leads us to propose a correlation information criterion (CIC) that substantially improves the QIC performance. Extensive simulation studies indicate that the CIC has remarkable improvement in selecting the correct correlation structures. We also illustrate our findings using a data set from the Madras Longitudinal Schizophrenia Study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中药肾区渗透并常规治疗高血压性肾损害40例疗效观察

目的：观察中药肾区皮肤外敷渗透加西药常规治疗高血压肾损害结果。方法：将部分中药粉碎微细化处理，将另部分中药液化处理．粉液混合装袋醋浸后外敷在肾区皮肤上，用药物导入仪肾区靶点式导人人体。并用一般西医常规治疗。结果：平均治疗3周血肌酐下降23％，BUN下降26％，24h蛋白尿下降23％，尿量增加16％，收缩压下降9％，舒张压下降7％。结论：中药的肾区皮肤外敷渗透加西医常规治疗效果明显高于一般常规治疗。     

Comparison of the effects of three different combinations of general anesthetics on the electroretinogram of dogs

The objective of this study is to compare the effects of three different anesthetic combinations on the electroretinogram in the same animals under similar laboratory conditions. Thiopental–isoflurane (TI), medetomidine–ketamine (MK), and xylazine–ketamine (XK) were used on each of 12 healthy miniature schnauzer dogs (MS) with a period of at least 3 weeks in between subsequent anesthesia protocols, using the Dog Standard Protocol. The scotopic ERGs consisted of scotopic low stimulus strength (S) responses designated S1, S2, S3, S4, and S5, at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min after dark adaptation, respectively, and scotopic standard stimulus strength (S-ST) responses. The photopic ERGs consisted of a photopic single flash (P) response and 31 Hz flicker (P-FL) responses. For S-ST (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the a-wave using TI was significantly lower than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.05) and XK (adjusted P = 0.03), and the implicit time of the a-wave was significantly shorter than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.04). For P (2.5 cd s/m²), the amplitude of the b-wave using XK was significantly higher than that using MK (adjusted P = 0.01). The implicit times of the b-wave using TI was significantly longer and shorter than that of MK for S1, S2 and P-FL and for S4 and S-ST, respectively, and than that of XK for S2 and P-FL and for S5 and S-ST, respectively. The results of the present study showed that TI affected both the amplitude and the implicit time of the a-wave for S-ST and the implicit time of the b-wave relatively more so than was the case when using XK or MK. Therefore, it appears that either XK or MK could be advantageous to use rather than TI for clinical studies.