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Objective: To evaluate the significance of quantitative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA in the test of susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains to rifampin., Methods: The susceptibility to rifampin of fifty-three clinical isolated strains was test by the percentage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis 85B mRNA copies before and after the use of rifampin, and 1% and 10% were used as the standards for drug resistance, which was compared with the absolute concentration method. Among them, 29 were rifampin resistant strains and 24 rifampin sensitive strains., Results: When the concentration of rifampin was 1 micro g/ml, and 1% and 10% were used as the standards, the accuracy of quantitative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA with the absolute concentration method was 70% and 81% respectively, and the sensitivity of quantitative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA was 100% and 100% respectively, while the specificity of quantitative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA was 33% and 58%. When the concentration of rifampin was 2 micro g/ml, the accuracy of quantitative analysis of mRNA with the absolute concentration method was 85% and 93% respectively, and the sensitivity was 100% and 97% respectively, while the specificity was 67% and 88% respectively. When the concentration of rifampin was 4 micro g/ml, the accuracy was 93% and 93%, and the sensitivity was 93% and 93%, while the specificity was 92% and 92%., Conclusions: Quantitative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis mRNA was a rapid, sensitive method in rifampin resistance screening. We suggest that the critical concentration of rifampin be 2 micro g/ml, and the critical proportion of mRNA copy be 10%.

Objective: To study and evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis., Methods: Two hundred and nine cases with re-treated Mycobacterium tuberculosis-positive pulmonary tuberculosis were randomly divided into a trial group (106 cases, treated with 3PaZ (TH)L(2)VE(AK) + IL-2/4PaL(2)V) and a control group (103 cases, treated with 3PaZ(TH)L(2)VE(AK)/4PaL(2)V). The efficacy of 203 cases was available for evaluation when the course was completed (trial group 103 cases, control group 100 cases)., Results: The sputum smear-negative conversion rates at the 1st and the 2nd month of therapy were 33.3% and 69.4% in the trial group, and 7.2% and 44.9% in the control group (P < 0.01). At the completion of the therapy, the X-ray resolution rates were 64.1% and 36.0% respectively for the trial and the control groups, the difference being significant (P < 0.001). There were significant differences in CD(4) T cells, the ratio of CD(4)/CD(8) and NK cells between the two groups (P < 0.01). The level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) was significantly different between the two groups after treatment for 3 months (P < 0.05). IL-2 associated side effects were rare and mild., Conclusion: As an effective and relatively safe biological agent, IL-2 can be added to the standard chemotherapy for pulmonary tuberculosis.

We studied the median nerve stimulated somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) of 23 patients with hepatic encephalopathy (HE) resulting from severe acute hepatitis and 22 healthy volunteers. Ten patients who improved and survived more than 60 days were classified as Group 1 and the remaining 13 patients who died shortly after the SEP studies were classified as Group 2. The mean N9-N13 interpeak latencies (IPL) were not different among control and two patient groups. The mean N13-N20 IPL of Group 2 was significantly prolonged when compared with normal controls (P < 0.001) and Group 1 (P < 0.001). Five of the six patients with abnormal N13-N20 IPL died of hepatic failure within 24 h after SEP testing. The occurrence of abnormal subcortical conduction together with cortical dysfunction suggested that brain damage in terminal hepatic encephalopathy was diffuse. The presentation of abnormal prolongation of N13-N20 IPL of SEP during the course of severe acute hepatitis indicated a poor prognosis. Peripheral somatosensory conduction is unaffected even in terminal HE.

Airway ischemia has been a common cause of morbidity and mortality in clinical lung transplantation. The present study examined the effects of cyclosporin A (CsA) and methylprednisolone (MP) on the viability of the devascularized trachea after heterotopic transplantation and omentopexy. Thirty-six tracheal segments were harvested from 18 donor Lewis rats, wrapped in omentum, and heterotopically implanted into the abdomen of recipient rats. Tracheal segments were randomly allocated into one of six recipient groups (n = 6): Lewis syngeneic controls, and five groups of Brown Norway recipients, receiving either no treatment, CsA alone (5 mg.kg-1.day-1 or 15 mg.kg-1.day-1), or CsA in combination with MP (5 mg CsA + 1 mg MP per kg/day or 15 mg CsA + 2 mg MP per kg/day, respectively). After 14 days, the tracheal segments were histologically evaluated. Epithelial thickness and the degree of epithelial regeneration were significantly different (p < 0.05) between the syngeneic control group and the untreated Brown Norway group. Without immunosuppression there was virtually no epithelium, whereas low-dose immunosuppression yielded intermediate viability, and with high dose CsA and MP we observed improved tracheal viability. In this high-dose group, the epithelium was thicker than in even the syngeneic control group. These results indicate that, in heterotopic tracheal allografts, viability may be improved with an optimum combination of CsA and MP.