Objective To explore perioperative outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting （CABG） using the radialartery as the second arterial graft. Methods Clinical data of 175 consecutive patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting （OPCAB） in General Hospital of Shenyang Military Command from August 2011 to April 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. All the 175 patients were divided into two groups. There were 75 patients including 49 male and 26 female patients with their age of 56.8±8.2 years in group 1，who received radial artery as a graft vessel. There were 100patients including 66 male and 34 female patients with their age of 57.7±8.1 years in group 2，who received great saphenousvein but not radial artery as the graft vessel. The use of left internal mammary artery as a graft vessel was 100% in both groups. Perioperative cardiovascular events and other clinical results were compared between the two groups. Results All the patients survived OPCAB and there was no 30-day death. There was no statistical difference in operation time，thoracic drainage within the first 24 hours after surgery or postoperative hospital stay between the two groups（P＞0.05）. Length of postoperative ICU stay and mechanical ventilation time of group 1 were shorter than those of group 2，although the differencewas not statistically significant. The percentage of patients receiving prolonged postoperative inotropic therapy of group 2 was higher than that of group 1 ［16% （16/100） vs. 12% （9/75）］，although the difference was not statistically significant. Postoperatively，there was no patient in group 1 who had new-onset myocardial ischemia or received intra-aortic balloon pump （IABP） support for hemodynamic instability. In group 2，3 patients had new-onset myocardial ischemia and 2 patientsreceived IABP support after OPCAB. Conclusion Radial artery can partly replace great saphenous vein as a graft vesselfor OPCAB，which does not increase the risk of perioperative cardiovascular events but is beneficial for postoperativerecovery to some degree. Radial artery can be more extensively used in CABG.
Objective To investigate the effect of notochordal cells (NCs) conditioned medium (NCCM) on theprol iferation and differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). Methods NCs and BMSCs wereisolated from the thoracolumbar intervertebral disc and the femurs of 4-week-old Japanese white rabbits, respectively. NCswere cultured with DMEM/F12 medium containing 15% FBS for 5 days to prepare NCCM. The experiment consisted of2 groups: BMSCs were cultured with NCCM in experimental group and with DMEM/F12 medium containing 15% FBSin control group. The prol iferation of BMSCs was assessed by cell counting kit-8 at 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 14 days after culture;the expression of proteoglycan and collagen type II were determined by immunofluorescence and real-time fluorescentquantitative PCR at 7 and 14 days after culture. Results NCs and BMSCs were successfully isloated. At 5, 7, 9, and 14days, the number of BMSCs in the experimental group was significantly more than those in the control group (P lt; 0.05).At 7 and 14 days, there was no expression or less expression of proteoglycan and collagen type II in the control group;however, there was a lot of expression of proteoglycan and collagen type II in the experimental group, and the expressionswere higher at 14 days than at 7 days. At 7 and 14 days after culture, the mRNA expressions of proteoglycan and collagentype II were significantly higher in the experimental group than in the control group (P lt; 0.05), and at 14 days than at 7days in the experimental group (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion NCCM can promote the prol iferation and the differentiation ofBMSCs into chondroyte-like cells, which provides the basis for NCs and BMSCs as seed cells in the treatment of degenerativedisc disease.