Hypocholesterolaemic mechanism of bitter melon aqueous extracts via inhibition of pancreatic cholesterol esterase and reduction of cholesterol micellar solubility

This study investigated the hypocholesterolaemic effects of bitter melon aqueous extracts (BMAE) in vitro, the inhibitory effects of BMAE on pancreatic cholesterol esterase (CEase) and incorporation of cholesterol into micelles were investigated. BMAE decreased the in vitro micellar solubility of cholesterol in a dose-dependent manner. The conformation of CEase was investigated by means of circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence. The result revealed the decrease of α-helix contents, increase of β-sheet and exposure of aromatic amino acid residuals. The incorporation of cholesterol into micelles was inhibited by BMAE. A complex was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which indicated interaction between cholesterol and BMAE. The result revealed that BMAE can play a role in decreased intestinal cholesterol absorption via inhibition of CEase, and of micelle formation.     

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Materials and MethodsEighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7 ± 13.9 [SD] years; range: 21–83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1 ± 12.3 [SD] years; range: 36–86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5 mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5 mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing.ResultsThe pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8–100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7–93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0–87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6–100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93–100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8–100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936–1.0).ConclusionsRadiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.     

Application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing for suspected infected pancreatic necrosis

BackgroundMetagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) is increasingly used for the clinical diagnosis of infectious diseases, but there is a paucity of data regarding the application of mNGS in the early diagnosis of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN).ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical application value of mNGS in the pathogenic diagnosis of IPN.MethodsForty-two patients with suspected IPN were prospectively and consecutively enrolled from August 2019 to August 2021. Blood samples were collected for mNGS and microbial culture simultaneously during fever (T ≥ 38.5 °C). For patients who had indications of surgical interventions, peri-pancreatic specimens were collected for mNGS and microbial culture simultaneously during the first surgical intervention to confirm IPN. The clinical performance of mNGS and microbial culture were compared.ResultsA total of 21 patients (50.0%) were confirmed to have IPN during hospitalization. The sensitivity of blood mNGS was significantly higher than blood culture (95.2% vs. 23.8%, P < 0.001) in diagnosing IPN. The negative predictive value of blood mNGS was 90.0%. The turnaround time of mNGS was significantly shorter than that of microbial culture [(37.70 ± 1.44) vs. (115.23 ± 8.79) h, P < 0.01] and the average costs of mNGS accounted for 1.7% of the average total cost of hospitalization. The survival analysis demonstrates that the positive blood mNGS result was not associated with increased mortality (P = 0.119).ConclusionsWith more valuable diagnostic performance and shorter turnaround time, clinical mNGS represents a potential step forward in the early diagnosis of IPN.     

胰腺导管腺癌CT、MR相关研究进展

胰腺导管腺癌（pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma，PDAC）是最常见的胰腺恶性肿瘤，其恶性程度高，患者生存率低。CT、MR是PDAC诊断最常用的影像检查，其不仅可以帮助PDAC进行诊断、鉴别，还能通过特殊序列来提供相应功能参数。此外，影像组学可以挖掘更多的影像信息供临床医生分析、预测患者术后生存率。CT、MR对于PDAC临床治疗具有重要的指导意义，故本文对PDAC相关CT、MR进展进行综述。     

美国胃肠病协会关于急性胰腺炎胰腺坏死处理临床实践专家共识更新解读

美国胃肠病协会（AGA）于2019年8月在Gastroenterology（《胃肠病学》）杂志上发表了针对胰腺坏死处理的临床实践专家共识的更新，归纳并总结了当前的临床证据与专家意见，旨在为胰腺坏死这一复杂临床情况的最佳干预提供指导建议。近年来，随着临床实践的不断深入，急性胰腺炎胰腺坏死的处理经历了较大的变革。从一开始的以手术为主的清创策略过渡到现阶段较为成熟的升阶梯治疗模式。针对胰腺坏死的治疗主要包含两个方面：非手术治疗和有创干预。其中，非手术治疗主要包括抗菌治疗和营养支持等。一旦坏死组织发生感染或无菌性坏死使病人产生显著临床症状，提示有强烈干预指征时，此时更多地依赖于有创干预。升阶梯治疗模式的主要内容为：以经皮引流或透壁内镜引流为首要手段，对于引流无法处理的大量固体坏死，可进行经皮微创或经内镜下坏死清除，若微创手段干预无效可进行开放手术清创。关于选择经皮微创阶梯治疗还是经内镜阶梯治疗，目前尚无研究显示两者之间对病死率等主要临床结局产生影响，不同治疗中心可根据各中心的专业特长和医疗资源，合理选择治疗方案。     

术前减轻黄疸对壶腹部癌行Whipple手术治疗效果的影响

目的:探讨术前减轻黄疸对壶腹部癌患者行Whipple手术治疗效果的影响。方法:回顾性分析2012年1月—2018年7月45例在Whipple手术术前行减轻黄疸治疗的壶腹部癌患者(减轻黄疸组)的临床资料,与同期34例行Whipple手术术前未行减轻黄疸治疗的壶腹部癌患者(未减轻黄疸组)的临床资料进行比较。比较两组患者术前、术中情况(手术时间、出血量、输血量)和术后并发症的差异。结果:减轻黄疸组患者治疗后总胆红素(TBil)、结合胆红素(DBil)、谷丙转氨酶(ALT)与治疗前比较差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。两组R 0切除率比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。减轻黄疸组手术时间、术中出血量、术中输血量优于未减轻黄疸组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。减轻黄疸组术后并发症发生率、胰漏发生率和胆漏发生率少于未减轻黄疸组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:壶腹部癌患者行Whipple手术术前彻底减轻黄疸,可以缩短手术时间,减少术中出血量和术后并发症的发生。