ObjectiveTo discuss the characteristics of coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes using coronary angiography of Dual Source CT. MethodsWe collected the clinical data of patients who underwent coronary angiography of Dual Source CT between December 2010 and November 2012 in Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital and Sichuan Orthopedic Hospital. A total of 302 patients (74 with type 2 diabetes, and 228 with no diabetes) were examined with CT coronary angiography. All images were comprehensively assessed. Types of plaques and luminal narrowing were evaluated. ResultsPatients with type 2 diabetes had more plaques (P<0.05), especially mixed plaques and non-calcified plaques, than non-diabetic patients (P<0.05). The proportions of calcified plaque, mixed plaques, non-calcified plaque in patients with type 2 diabetes were 29.1%, 41.1%, 29.8%, respectively. The proportions of calcified plaque, mixed plaques, non-calcified plaque in patients with nondiabetic patients were 39.7%, 36.0%, 24.3%, respectively. The difference of the composition between diabetes and nondiabetic was significant (P<0.05). There were more mild, moderate and severe narrowing in type 2 diabetic patients than those in non-diabetic patients (P<0.05). ConclusionCoronary angiography of CT depicts a high plaque burden in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mixed plaque is the most common type), which may cause stenosis easily.
ObjectiveTo investigate the expression pattern and significance of Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway by observing whether the Shh signaling pathway components express in the adult rat after spinal cord injury (SCI). MethodsSixty-four healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into normal group (group A, 8 rats), sham group (group B, 8 rats), and SCI group (group C, 48 rats). In group A, the rats served as controls without any treatment; a decompressive laminectomy was performed on T7-9 levels without SCI in group B; and modified Allen's method was used to make SCI model in group C. Basso Beattie Bresnahan (BBB) scale was used to assess the hind limb motor function at 12 hours, 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, and 21 days after SCI; the immunofluorescence staining, real-time PCR, and Western blot were performed to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of Shh and Glioma-associated oncogene homolog-1 (Gli-1) in SCI zone. ResultsThe BBB score slowly increased with time in group C, but the scores at each time point in group C were significantly lower than those in group A and group B (P<0.05). The results of immunofluorescence staining showed that Shh and Gli-1 rapidly increased after SCI in astrocytes. Real-time PCR and Western blot showed that the relative expression levels of Shh and Gli-1 mRNA and protein were gradually increased in group C and reached a maximum at 7 days. In addition, the relative expression levels of Shh and Gli-1 mRNA and protein in group C were significantly higher than those in group A and group B (P<0.05). On the other hand, compared with group A, the expression of Gli-1 protein was reduced in the cytoplasm but increased in nucleus in group C. ConclusionAstrocytes synthesize and secrete Shh and Gli-1 signaling molecules after SCI, both Shh and Gli-1 significantly up-regulate and exhibit dynamic changes, which suggests Shh signaling pathway may be involved in nerve cell regeneration after SCI.