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Fufang Zhenzhu Tiaozhi capsule (FTZ) is a patented preparation of Chinese herbal medicine that has been used to treat hyperlipidemia, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, and other glucolipid metabolic diseases (GLMDs) in the clinic for almost 10 years. However, how FTZ reduces albuminuria and attenuates diabetic kidney disease (DKD) progression is unknown.To clarify the effects of FTZ on DKD mice model and to explore the underlying mechanisms.We used streptozotocin (STZ) (40 mg/kg/d, i.p. for 5 days, consecutively) combined with a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce a DKD mouse model, followed by FTZ (1, 2 g/kg/d, i.g.) treatment for 12 weeks. Losartan (30 mg/kg/d, i.g.) was used as a positive control. Measurements of 24 h proteinuria, serum creatinine (SCr), fasting blood glucose (FBG), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and expression levels of fibronectin (FN), collagen IV, inflammatory cytokines, inflammatory cells, interleukin-17A (IL-17A) and the nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway in the kidney were examined.FTZ effectively decreased 24 h proteinuria, Scr, FBG, TC, TG, and LDL-C levels, inhibited mesangial cell expansion, reduced FN and collagen IV accumulation, and F4/80FTZ might attenuate DKD progression, and inhibited kidney inflammation and fibrosis by inhibiting the expression of RORγT and IL-17A in vivo, offering novel insights for the clinical application of FTZ.

An efficient method combined with fingerprint and chemometric analyses was developed to evaluate the quality of the traditional Chinese medicine plant Penthorum chinense Pursh. Nine samples were collected from different regions during different harvest periods, and 17 components in the form of extracts were simultaneously examined to assess quality by using high-performance liquid chromatography. The hepatoprotective effects of components were investigated by assessing the inhibition of SMMC-7721 cell growth. The results indicated that the quality control method was accurate, stable, and reliable, and the hierarchical heat-map cluster and the principle component analyses confirmed that the classification of all nine samples was consistent. Quercetin and ellagitannins including pinocembrin-7-O-[3''-O-galloyl-4'',6''-hexahydroxydiphenoyl]-β-glucose (PGHG), thonningianin A, thonningianin B, and other flavonoids were abundant in the extracts, and significantly contributed to the hepatoprotective effects.

To determine the incremental value of magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion-weighted (DW) imaging for the diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory diseases (PID). We added DW sequences to conventional MR imaging in 187 patients with clinically suspected PID. The imaging findings included shape, signal intensity on T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and DW imaging, shade in the peripheral lesions, free pelvic fluid, and lymphadenopathy. Laparoscopic and pathological findings confirmed the diagnosis in all patients. Conventional MR findings were consistent with a diagnosis of PID in 90.7% (117/129) and of non-PID in 93.3% (28/30) of the 159 patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of conventional MR imaging findings vs. the addition of DW imaging to conventional MR protocols for predicting PID were 90.7%, 93.3%, 98.3%, 70.0%, and 91.2% and 98.4%, 93.3%, 98.4%, 93.3%, and 97.5%, respectively. The addition of DW sequences to conventional MR imaging can improve the accuracy of diagnosis in PID.

To enhance diagnosis of gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas using CT and contrast-enhanced CT images.A total of 44 patients with gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas, as confirmed by clinical pathology and immunohistochemistry in the Sixth Affiliated People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai China, were included in the study. CT and enhanced CT scanning were performed, and the resulting images were reviewed and analyzed.Twenty-seven males and 17 females were enrolled. Gastrointestinal involvement included the following: 5 cases located in the middle or inferior segment of the esophagus; 5 in the gastric cardia, 15 in the body of stomach, 6 located in the gastric antrum; 5 located in the Vater papilla of the duodenum; and 8 located in the colon. Among the 44 cases 80%-90% of the lesions had homogeneous density. Totally 81.8% (36/44) cases demonstrated homogeneous enhancement in arterial phases, most of the cases (n = 33) moderately or obviously enhanced. Only 17.2% (8/44) cases appeared as heterogeneous enhancement. And 86.4% cases (n = 38) were further enhanced in the venous phase. The CT images also revealed some of the metastases. Some liver metastasis cases have obvious homogeneous enhancement.CT and enhanced CT provide useful information regarding gastrointestinal neuroendocrine carcinomas' location, density, enhancement pattern, and some metastasis. These features are helpful to increase the diagnostic accuracy.

Despite the identification of horseshoe bats as the reservoir of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs), the origin of SARS-CoV ORF8, which contains the 29-nucleotide signature deletion among human strains, remains obscure. Although two SARS-related Rhinolophus sinicus bat CoVs (SARSr-Rs-BatCoVs) previously detected in Chinese horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus sinicus ) in Yunnan, RsSHC014 and Rs3367, possessed 95% genome identities to human and civet SARSr-CoVs, their ORF8 protein exhibited only 32.2 to 33% amino acid identities to that of human/civet SARSr-CoVs. To elucidate the origin of SARS-CoV ORF8, we sampled 348 bats of various species in Yunnan, among which diverse alphacoronaviruses and betacoronaviruses, including potentially novel CoVs, were identified, with some showing potential interspecies transmission. The genomes of two betacoronaviruses, SARSr-Rf-BatCoV YNLF_31C and YNLF_34C, from greater horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus ferrumequinum ), possessed 93% nucleotide identities to human/civet SARSr-CoV genomes. Although these two betacoronaviruses displayed lower similarities than SARSr-Rs-BatCoV RsSHC014 and Rs3367 in S protein to civet SARSr-CoVs, their ORF8 proteins demonstrated exceptionally high (80.4 to 81.3%) amino acid identities to that of human/civet SARSr-CoVs, compared to SARSr-BatCoVs from other horseshoe bats (23.2 to 37.3%). Potential recombination events were identified around ORF8 between SARSr-Rf-BatCoVs and SARSr-Rs-BatCoVs, leading to the generation of civet SARSr-CoVs. The expression of ORF8 subgenomic mRNA suggested that the ORF8 protein may be functional in SARSr-Rf-BatCoVs. The high K a / K s ratio among human SARS-CoVs compared to that among SARSr-BatCoVs supported that ORF8 is under strong positive selection during animal-to-human transmission. Molecular clock analysis using ORF1ab showed that SARSr-Rf-BatCoV YNLF_31C and YNLF_34C diverged from civet/human SARSr-CoVs in approximately 1990. SARS-CoV ORF8 originated from SARSr-CoVs of greater horseshoe bats through recombination, which may be important for animal-to-human transmission. IMPORTANCE Although horseshoe bats are the primary reservoir of SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs), it is still unclear how these bat viruses have evolved to cross the species barrier to infect civets and humans. Most human SARS-CoV epidemic strains contain a signature 29-nucleotide deletion in ORF8, compared to civet SARSr-CoVs, suggesting that ORF8 may be important for interspecies transmission. However, the origin of SARS-CoV ORF8 remains obscure. In particular, SARSr-Rs-BatCoVs from Chinese horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus sinicus ) exhibited

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as a chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: BALB/c nude mice were randomized into four groups 24 h before subcutaneous injection of hepatocarcinoma BEL7402 cells suspended in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) into the right flank. The control group (n = 10) was fed a standard diet while treatment groups (n = 10 each) were fed a standard daily diet supplemented with different concentrations of UDCA (30, 50 and 70 mg/kg per day) for 21 d. Tumor growth was measured once each week, and tumor volume (V) was calculated with the following equation: V = (L × W2) × 0.52, where L is the length and W is the width of the xenograft. After 21 d, mice were killed under ether anesthesia, and tumors were excised and weighed. Apoptosis was evaluated through detection of DNA fragmentation with gel electrophoresis and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Western blot analysis was performed to determine the expression of apoptosis-related proteins BAX, BCL2, APAF1, cleaved caspase-9, and cleaved caspase-3. RESULTS: UDCA suppressed tumor growth relative to controls. The mean tumor volumes were the following: control, 1090 ± 89 mm3; 30 mg/kg per day, 612 ± 46 mm3; 50 mg/kg per day, 563 ± 38 mm3; and 70 mg/kg per day, 221 ± 26 mm3. Decreased tumor volumes reached statistical significance relative to control xenografts (30 mg/kg per day, P < 0.05; 50 mg/kg per day, P < 0.05; 70 mg/kg per day, P < 0.01). Increasing concentrations of UDCA led to increased DNA fragmentation observed on gel electrophoresis and in the TUNEL assay (control, 1.6% ± 0.3%; 30 mg/kg per day, 2.9% ± 0.5%; 50 mg/kg per day, 3.15% ± 0.7%, and 70 mg/kg per day, 4.86% ± 0.9%). Western blot analysis revealed increased expression of BAX, APAF1, cleaved-caspase-9 and cleaved-caspase-3 proteins, which induce apoptosis, but decreased expression of BCL2 protein, which is an inhibitor of apoptosis, following administration of UDCA. CONCLUSION: UDCA suppresses growth of BEL7402 hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vivo, in part through apoptosis induction, and is thus a candidate for therapeutic treatment of HCC.

To understand the epidemiologic characteristics of dengue fever, imported from Myanmar to the border of Yunnan province, China. Viral molecular epidemiologic features were also studied.Questionnaires were used on each diagnosed, suspected dengue fever, case or unknown cases with fever when coming from Myanmar entering the port and hospitals in Ruili city of Yunnan province. Serum samples of these patients were collected to detect IgM antibody against dengue virus and RT-PCR assay. Homology and phylogenetic tree based on the whole nucleotide sequence of PrM-C and NS5 gene of dengue virus were further analyzed.A total of 103 sera were collected from patients at acute stage in Ruili city in July to November 2008. Among them, 49 cases were confirmed for dengue fever according to IgM and nucleic acid testings. Except one, other 48 cases were all imported into Ruili, from Myanmar. Of those, 18 patients were residents from Mujie city of Myanmar and hospitalized in Ruili and the rest 30 patients were Chinese citizens who had finished business and returned from Myanmar. Two isolates of serum samples from the imported cases were identified and both homology and phylogenetic analysis were performed, using the nucleotide sequences of PrM and NS5 genes. They were divided into dengue type 1 (RLB61) and dengue type 3 (RLC31) and were closer to the dengue virus strains isolated from Southeast Asia countries.It is confirmed that an epidemic of dengue fever which was imported from Myanmar to Ruili city of Yunnan province, China. Evidence also showed that both type I and III epidemic strains of dengue virus did exist in Mujie city of Myanmar in 2008.

Objective Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) has been associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in recent studies, but this relationship is controversial. The aim of this study was to assess whether carotid IMT in patients with SCH differs from that in euthyroid subjects. Methods Prior to November 2011, we searched PUBMED, EMBASE, COCHRANE LIBRARY databases and the bibliographies of key articles to identify studies that reported carotid IMT in patients with SCH compared with euthyroid subjects. Two reviewers independently evaluated each potential study for eligibility, assessed the methodological quality, and extracted the data. Results We identified 8 observational studies with 3602 patients that met the eligibility criteria. In patients with SCH, the pooled estimate of the weighted mean difference (WMD) of increased carotid IMT was 0.056 mm (95% CI 0.020, 0.092; P = 0.002). Sensitivity analysis using a pooled sample of the 7 higher-quality studies demonstrated higher carotid IMT level in patients with SCH compared with those with euthyroidism (WMD, 0.064 mm, 95% CI 0.024, 0.105; P = 0.002). In a subgroup analysis, SCH was also associated with a significant increase in carotid IMT among patients with a mean TSH > 10.0 mIU/l (WMD, 0.082 mm, 95% CI 0.049, 0.116; P = 0.00). SCH was associated with a significant increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP), triglyceride (TG) levels, total cholesterol (TC) levels, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels and with a decrease in fasting plasma glucose (FPG). Conclusion This meta-analysis indicates that SCH is associated with an increased carotid IMT, which may due to elevated thyrotropin (TSH), dyslipidemia and hypertension. Increased IMT can also be present in patients with serum TSH values less than 10 mIU/l, although there is significant heterogeneity. Prospective studies with larger samples are necessary to evaluate these observations.

Background Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a form of functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that allows examination of the microstructural integrity of white matter in the brain. Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease, and DTI can provide indirect insights of the microstructural characteristics of brains in individuals with different forms of dementia. Purpose To evaluate the value of DTI in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of patients with subcortical ischemic vascular dementia (SIVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Material and Methods The study included 40 patients (20 AD patients and 20 SIVD patients) and 20 normal controls (NC). After routine MRI and DTI, fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were measured and compared in regions of interest (ROI). Results Compared to NC and AD patients, SIVD patients had lower FA values and higher ADC values in the inferior-fronto-occipital fascicles (IFOF), genu of the corpus callosum (GCC), splenium of the corpus callosum (SCC), and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Compared to controls and SIVD patients, AD patients had lower FA values in the anterior frontal lobe, temporal lobe, hippocampus, IFOF, GCC, and CF; and higher ADC values in the temporal lobe and hippocampus. Conclusion DTI can be used to estimate the white matter impairment in dementia patients. There were significant regional reductions of FA values and heightened ADC values in multiple regions in SIVD patients compared to AD patients. When compared with conventional MRI, DTI may provide a more objective method for the differential diagnosis of SIVD and AD disease patients who have only mild white matter alterations on T2-weighted imaging.

AIM: To improve the diagnosis of heterotopic pancreas by the use of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) imaging and CT virtual endoscopy (CTVE). METHODS: A total of six patients with heterotopic pancreas, as confirmed by clinical pathology and immunohistochemistry in the Sixth Affiliated People’s Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, were included. Non-enhanced CT and enhanced CT scanning were performed, and the resulting images were reviewed and analyzed using three-dimensional post-processing software, including CTVE. RESULTS: Four males and two females were enrolled. Several heterotopic pancreas sites were involved; three occurred in the stomach, including the gastric antrum (n = 2) and lesser curvature (n = 1), and two were in the duodenal bulb. Only one case of heterotopic pancreas lesion occurred in the mesentery. Four cases had a solid yet soft tissue density that had a homogeneous pattern when viewed by enhanced CT. Additionally, their CT values were similar to that of the pancreas. The ducts of the heterotopic pancreas tissue, one of the characteristic CT features of heterotopic pancreas tissue, were detected in the CT images of two patients. CTVE images showed normal mucosa around the tissue, which is also an important indicator of a heterotopic pancreas. However, none of the CTVE images showed the typical signs of central dimpling or umbilication. CONCLUSION: CT, enhanced CT and CTVE techniques provide useful information about the location, growth pattern, vascularity, and condition of the gastrointestinal wall around heterotopic pancreatic tissue.

In order to compare the prognostic significance of late potentials (LPs) on signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SA-ECG), left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) and 24-hour Holter monitoring (HM) following myocardial infarction, a prospective study on 60 patients (age 61.7 +/- 8.02 years old) just after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was done. LPs, EF and HM were performed in all patients. Coronary arteriography had been done in 25 patients. The results showed that LPs were associated with a slightly higher incidence of life-threatening arrhythmia (34.8%) than HM (28.6%) and EF (25%). During the follow-up period (10 +/- 6 months), 9 patients had serious ventricular arrhythmic events, among whom 3 had sudden death due to ventricular fibrillation. The event rate in patients with abnormal LPs was higher than in patients with normal LPs (p = 0.01, odds ratio = 19.2). The study showed that there was no correlation between abnormal LPs and sex, age, number of narrowed coronary arteries, ventricular aneurysm, location of myocardial infarction, or EF alone. But there was a correlation between abnormal LPs and high grade ventricular ectopic activity detected by HM (r = 0.62899, p = 0.024). In addition, the combination of abnormal values of LPs, EF and HM could predict sustained ventricular tachycardia or sudden death in the first year after myocardial infarction with very high sensitivity (100%) as well as high specificity (p = 0.0009, odds ratio = 19).

Methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) is a multifactorial autosomal recessive inborn error of organic acid metabolism, often presenting with neurological symptoms. As neurological disorders are often related to white matter injury, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an excellent tool for assessment of white matter injury and possibly for diagnosing this disorder.We retrospectively analyzed DTI images of 12 patients with MMA (7 males, 5 females, age range: 7 - 12 months, mean age: 9.25 +/- 1.70 months) with negative MRI findings. And another 12 age-matched and gender-matched infants were enrolled as control subjects. Fractional anisotropy (FA) of different white matter tracts of the brain was measured in both groups.For patients with negative MRI findings, compared with healthy infants, a statistically significant reduction in DTI FA value of the frontal white matter, temporal white matter, and occipital white matter was observed (P0.01).In addition to conventional T1W and T2W MR Image, Brain DTI presents a useful, sensitive and complementary tool for the assessment of brain damage in patients with MMA.

To understand the epidemiological features of two rabies cases in Baoshan city year 2006 and 2007 and to analyze its source of infection.Questionnaires were used to do the epidemiological survey on each of the rabies cases. Brain tissue samples of rabies patients were collect to detect the rabies virus by direct immunofluorescence assay (DFA) and RT-PCR assay. Homology and phylogenetic tree were analyzed, based on the whole nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence of P, M and N gene of rabies virus followed by molecular epidemiological analysis.In July 2006, one human rabies case was identified in Longyang district, and another one in Tengchong county in Baoshan city in 2007. The degrees of exposure of these two patients was all at degree III. Two brain tissue samples among the dead patients (No. CYN0601H and CYN0701H) were confirmed positive by both DFA and RT-PCR assay. The homology analysis of P, M and N gene sequences among CYN0601H, CYN0701H and other rabies strains isolated from other provinces and other counties, showed that the samples in Baoshan city shared the highest homology with the strains in Thailand. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the two samples were very close and all belonged to genetype 1 Lyssavirus, with the closest relationship between samples in Baoshan city and strains in Thailand.It was confirmed on the virus molecular level that the two patients in Baoshan city were both suffered from rabies. The prevalent strains in Baoshan city was probably imported from foreign country, suggesting that prevention and control measures on rabies virus in the boarder areas of Yunnan should be strengthened.

To investigate and analysis the prevalence and risk factors of snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness among male pilots.1108 subjects were derived from a random sample of pilots. They were asked to answer the questions from a questionnaire concerning their snoring and daytime sleepiness, etc. 1054 questionnaire were available for evaluation.The overall prevalence of snoring among male pilots was 51.04% (538/1054), while moderate and severe snorers accounted for 26.28% (227/1054). The prevalence of snoring among male pilots aged over 30 yr was 63.68% (426/669). The prevalence and severity of snoring increase with age and BMI. Age, overweight and obesity, alcohol ingestion and family history of snoring were associated with the prevalence and severity of snoring. There was significant difference in Epworth sleepiness scale scores among without snoring group and various severity of snoring groups (chi2 = 16.948, P0.05).The prevalence of snoring is high in male pilots. The Epworth sleepiness scale score increase with increasing degree of snoring. Doctors should pay more attention to snoring in male pilot.

To observe the therapeutic effect of modified Longdan Xiegan Decoction (LXD) on hyperandrogenism in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (POS) of stagnant fire in Gan channel type.Forty-eight patients were divided into two groups: the LXD group (25 cases) treated with LXI) for 3 months, and the Diane-35 group (23 cases) with Diane-35. Condition of menstruation, acne, hairiness were observed, basal body temperature (BBT) was measured, and the serum levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin (PRL), free testosterone (FT), and androstenedione (A) were detected before and after 3 months' treatment. Meanwhile, adverse reaction was observed.After treatment, the condition of menstrual disorder, acne and single-phase BBT were improved significantly, and serum levels of LH, LH/FSH, FT and A decreased in both groups (P0.05), showed insignificant difference between them (P0.05). The PRL level dropped in the LXD group (P0.05), which significantly lower than that in the Diane-35 group (P0.05). There were 3 cases with adverse reaction of irregular colporrhagia and 5 cases with nausea and vomiting in the Diane-35 group, while no adverse reaction in the LXD group occurred.Modified LXD could significantly improve the condition in hyperandrogenism patients with POS of stagnant fire in Gan channel type.

To study the molecular biology of Xinjiang hemorrhagic fever (XHF) viruses, to explore its relationship with other Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever viruses, analyzing the epidemic origin and the tendency of geographic distribution of XHF.The S partial segment from the patient and tick samples collected in 2001 and 2002 was tested by RT-PCR, the positive samples were sequenced directly. The nucleotide homology of S partial segment as well as the whole segments were analyzed and the phylogenetic tree of S and M gene segments was drawn by computer.All compared sequences of S partial segments from the patient and tick samples showed a high homology of nucleotide sequences. Phylogenetic tree divided all the analyzed viruses into three groups; Europe, African and Asian group. The Asian group can be divided further into another two branches: the middle Asian branch and the Chinese branch. All the Chinese isolates were clustered into one single group and was easy to be discriminated from the other isolates. The dividing of M segments seemed not completely related to the geographic origin of the viruses.M segment classification was not consistent to the geographic distribution of the viruses. S segments analysis showed the close relationship of genetic background between the patient isolates and the tick isolates. Besides, all the Chinese isolates have the common evolution route and the gene structure characteristics displayed the regional distribution pattern.

The abnormal proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is closely related to vascular diseases. There is growing evidence that calcium antagonists inhibit VSMC growth/proliferation, yet their molecular mechanisms remain to be determined. Recent reports suggest that p42/p44 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) play an important role in cell growth and proliferation induced by growth factors. This study was designed to determine whether these MAPKs are involved in VSMC proliferation induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and to examine the inhibitory effect of amlodipine. Human VSMCs were obtained from inner mammary artery. p42/p44 MAPKs activity was measured by immunoblotting assay using anti-p42/p44 phospho-MAPK antibody. 1) bFGF (20 ng/ml) significantly activated p42/p44 MAPKs with a peak time of 5-15 min, which was maintained for 3 h. PD98059 (100 nM-10 microM), a specific inhibitor of MAPK kinase, inhibited bFGF-induced p42/p44 MAPKs activation in a dose-dependent manner. 2) Amlodipine (1-100 nM) dose-dependently inhibited p42/p44 MAPKs activation by bFGF. 3) Amlodipine (10 nM) could inhibit both short-term and long-term p42/p44 MAPKs activation by bFGF. Our results indicate that bFGF could activate p42/p44 MAPKs. Amlodipine, which could inhibit bFGF-induced human VSMC proliferation, inhibited both short-term and sustained p42/p44 MAPKs activation by bFGF, suggesting that bFGF-induced VSMC proliferation may be related to p42/p44 MAPKs activation, and that the antiproliferative effect of amlodipine may be related to its inhibition of p42/p44 MAPKs activation.

Objective: To analyze the value of readout-segmented echo-planar imaging (rs-EPI) with parallel imaging and a two-dimensional (2D) navigator-based reacquisition technique in the detection of brain lesions at the skull base. Materials and Methods: A total of 54 patients (male 37, female 17) with suspected skull-base intracranial lesions underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including pre-T1 weighted imaging, T2-weighted imaging, Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR), standard single shot echo-planar imaging diffusion weighted imaging (ss-EPI DWI) and rs-EPI DWI, post-contrast T1-weighted. The total number of lesions and the number of lesions at different sites on all MRI sequences were used as reference measures. Then differences in detecting lesions and image quality between standard ss-EPI DWI and rs-EPI DWI were analyzed. Results: There was a significant difference in the total number of lesions detected by rs-EPI DWI and standard ss-EPI DWI (P = 0.01). But this difference was mainly due to an improved ability of rs-EPI DWI to detect lesions located in the anterior cranial fossa, compared to ss-EPI DWI (P=0.02); the ability of ss-EPI and rs-EPI DWI to detect lesions in the middle cranial fossa and posterior cranial fossa was not significantly different (P = 0.471, P = 0.486, respectively). For image quality, rs-EPI images were significantly better than standard ss-EPI DWI images (P