Volume 101  ·   Issue 09  ·  1988

To determine the value of serum CA 125 in assessing the effect of chemotherapy for patients with endometriosis, we measured continuously serum CA 125 levels in 9 cases of external endometriosis treated with danazol alone, and 12 cases of external endometriosis treated by operation and with danazol, and 20 cases of adenomyosis treated by operation during the 4 weeks after treatment. Analyzing the results following treatment, we found that the percentage of decrease differed in serum CA 125 among the 3 groups as compared with their respective pretreatment level. Therefore, we consider that serum CA 125 may serve as an identification marker for assessing the effect of these treatments.

From 1966 to 1986, 136 cases of thoracic outlet syndrome were seen in our hospital, 34 were male and 102 female. The majority of them were 21-40 years old. 60 cases (44%) were due to bony compression, and 76 (56%) due to compression from soft tissue. Conservative treatment failed in most cases. Appropriate operations according to the causes of compression were satisfactory in all. An overall analysis of the disease and its surgical treatment is presented.

Local immune response in cancerous tissue was investigated by immunofluorescent technique in 78 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Clinical and postoperative follow-up data were analysed for exploration of its clinical implication. The results indicated that the intensity of local immune response was closely correlated with clinical staging, tumor size, hepatic metastasis and cancerous thrombosis. Local immune response represented the host immune reaction against HCC and could directly influence the prognosis. It provides a valuable index for predicating prognosis and selecting immunotherapy of the disease after operation.

212 Wistar rats were divided randomly into five groups, each of which was fed on one of the following regimes: (1) Normal iodine and fluorine; (2) normal iodine, 10 ppm fluorine; (3) normal iodine, 30 ppm fluorine; (4) flow iodine, normal fluorine; (5) low iodine, 10 ppm fluorine. The experiment lasted seven months. The results showed that severe morphologic and functional damage of the thyroid appeared in the rats drinking water containing 30 ppm fluorine, but only slight abnormal ultrastructural changes of thyroid cells appeared in rats drinking water containing 10 ppm fluorine; rats with iodine deFiciency showed proliferative changes of the thyroid; rats on iodine deficient diet and drinking water containing 10 ppm fluorine showed morphologic and functional damage as well as proliferation. The study suggests that there is synergistic action of iodine-deficiency and fluorine-intoxication on the thyroid.

On the basis of our results, we believe that the hamster can be used in the study of epidemic hemorrhagic fever virus (EHFV) for isolation and propagation of EHFV, production of immune serum and antigen slides, as an animal model for drug screening and vaccine testing, etc.

Rabbit antiserum to HBxAg and PAP technique were used to detect HBxAg in liver tissue of 150 patients with chronic liver disease. HBsAg and HBcAg were also localized at the same time. Positive granules for HBxAg were localized in some liver cell nuclei and no cytoplasmic HBxAg was seen. The incidence of HBxAg was 12.5% in 80 patients with viral hepatitis and 5% in 20 patients with cirrhosis. HBxAg could not be detected in 50 patients with HCC. HBxAg was only expressed in the liver tissue of cases positive for HBsAg and/or HBcAg. There was no relationship between expression of HBxAg and histopathological changes.

Human peripheral blood T helper cells (Th, Leu 3a+ cells) and T suppressor cells (Ts, Leu 2a+ cells) in 26 cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 13 normal controls were studied by a two-colour monoclonal antibodies (Becton Dickinson, U.S.A.) direct immunofluorescence method. Three of 26 SLE patients were followed up for two months after treatment. It was found that the Th/Ts ratio in normal controls was l.6±0.6 (1.0-2.2), whereas the ratio in 73% of SLE patients was abnormal, with either Th or Ts deficient. All these cases had clinical symptoms of moderate or severe degree, including involvement of the key organs. SLE patients with a normal Th/Ts ratio were in mildly active or inactive stage of the disease. Treated with prednisone and/or cyclophosphamide the Th/Ts ratios in active SLE patients were reduced as a result of the increase of Ts cells.

The physiologic variations of serum lipids in the residents in urban districts of Beijing from birth to senescence were studied by standardized methods. 15 208 were profiled for serum total cholesterol and 5 585 for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride. The average serum lipids of neonates were similar to those reported by other authors over the world. The characteristic sex and age differences of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol showed a striking similarity to those reported by the Lipid Research Clinic, USA, but the mean values were much lower in Beijing residents. However, Beijing boys and men had higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than American counterparts. The cholesterol and triglyceride reached top levels at age 60-80 and declined after 80. The nonagenarians had similar lipid levels as middle-aged adults. The definition of hypercholesterolemia was discussed briefly. The lipid risk level for coronary heart disease of Beijing populations was estimated.

Fifty patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (PHC) and 49 controls were assayed for hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers by radioimmunoassay. The results showed that the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was positive in 43 out of 50 (86%) PHC patients and in 11 out of 49 (22.5%) controls (p<0.001). Both anti-HBs and anti-HBc were present in six PHC patients and in 27 controls. The positive rate for at least one HBV marker was 98% (49/50) in the PHC patients. The relationship between HBsAg positivity and PHC in our young patients suggests that these individuals were infected by the HBV in their early life either by vertical transmission from the carrier mothers during the perinatal period or by close family contacts during the postnatal period. This study confirmed the strong geographic correlation between HBsAg prevalence and incidence of PHC.