Intermittent Internal Fixation With a Locking Plate to Preserve Epiphyseal Growth Function During Limb-Salvage Surgery in a Child With Osteosarcoma of the Distal Femur: A Case Report

Limb shortening is a problem associated with surgery for osteosarcoma of the lower extremity in adolescents, as the tumors frequently occur near the epiphysis. Herein we report the use of a less invasive stabilization system (LISS) and an intermittent fixation method to preserve the growth function of epiphysis in an 11-year-old patient with an osteosarcoma of the distal femur.The 11-year-old male presented with left knee enlargement and pain for 2 weeks, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy were consistent with osteosarcoma of the left distal femur. After preoperative chemotherapy, en bloc tumor resection was performed with margins based on MRI findings preserving the epiphyseal growth plate, the tumor cavity was filled with inactivated bone and bone cement, and a LISS was used to stabilize the femur. Aggressive postoperative chemotherapy was given. Approximately 105 weeks after surgery radiography showed that the distal end of the plate had moved superior to the epiphysis along with bone growth. Locking screws were placed in the distal part of the LISS plate to stabilize the re-implanted bone, and external fixation was not needed.The patient was able to walk with the crutches 1 week postoperatively, and bear weight on the extremity 6 weeks postoperatively. At 6 years after surgery, the patient''s height had increased 52 cm, shortening of the affected limb was only 1 cm, and the circumference of the affected limb was 2 cm smaller than that of the contralateral limb. There was no significant discomfort in the affected limb, and there was no gait abnormality. The patient could jump and run, and could participate in sports including basketball and badminton to the same degree as his peers.In summary, the novel method of bone reconstruction and fixation provided good results in a child with an osteosarcoma of the distal femur. This fixation method preserves the osteogenic function of the epiphysis and restored bone integrity simultaneously, and provides good functional recovery.     

Peripheral whole blood FOXP3 TSDR methylation: a potential marker in severity assessment of autoimmune diseases and chronic infections

Immune dysregulation is a cardinal feature of autoimmune diseases and chronic microbial infections. In particular, regulatory T cells are downregulated in autoimmune diseases while upregulated in chronic microbial infections. FOXP3 is the master regulator of Treg development. Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) is a highly conserved locus on the FOXP3 gene that is fully demethylated in natural Tregs but methylated in effector T cells. In our study, we used high resolution melt-polymerase chain reaction (HRM-PCR) to determine the FOXP3 TSDR methylation status in autoimmune diseases and chronic microbial infections. We found that FOXP3 TSDR to have the highest mean melting temperature (highly methylated) in active SLE patients compared to all the other groups (p?<?0.001). The psoriasis group also had a significantly high mean melting temperature (78.62?±?0.20) when compared with the inactive SLE group (78.49?±?0.29, p?<?0.05) and control group (78.44?±?0.25, p?<?0.01). There was no significant difference in melting temperature between inactive SLE and healthy controls. Disease activity in SLE was directly associated with methylation of the FOXP3 TSDR. On the other hand, patients with chronic microbial infections had significantly lower FOXP3 TSDR mean melting temperature (demethylated) when compared with healthy controls (78.28?±?0.21 vs 78.44?±?0.25, p?<?0.05). Our results suggest that the use of HRM-PCR to detect FOXP3 TSDR methylation status is a reliable and easy method to predict natural regulatory T cell levels in peripheral blood in different disease conditions. Determining FOXP3 TSDR methylation status can be a useful tool in diagnosis, and monitoring the severity of autoimmune diseases and chronic microbial infections.     

The prognostic role of tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes in oral squamous cell carcinoma: A meta‐analysis

It has been suggested that tumour‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) are associated with the progression of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the prognostic value of TILs is inconclusive due to the heterogeneity of immune cells within the tumour microenvironment. In this meta‐analysis, we aimed to assess the prognostic value of TILs in OSCC. The PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases were searched up to April 20, 2019, and 33 studies were ultimately included in this meta‐analysis. Our pooled meta‐analysis showed that high infiltration of CD8⁺ TILs, CD45RO⁺ TILs and CD57⁺ TILs favoured better overall survival (OS). However, high infiltration of CD68⁺ macrophages and CD163⁺ macrophages was associated with poor prognosis in OSCC. These findings suggest that CD8⁺ TILs, CD45RO⁺ TILs, CD57⁺ TILs, CD68⁺ macrophages and CD163⁺ macrophages might serve as novel prognostic factors and therapeutic targets in OSCC.     

基于TCGA数据初步探查肝内胆管癌预后相关基因

目的 分析tCGA数据库中肝内胆管癌（ICC）高通量测序数据，寻找其预后相关基因，构建风险模型，并研究其在ICC组织中表达及作用通路。方法 下载tCGA数据库中33例ICC组织和8例癌旁组织中的RNA-seq表达矩阵数据和患者临床资料信息，利用edgeR软件包进行基因差异表达分析，通过单因素Cox回归分析筛选出预后相关差异基因，对差异基因绘制生存曲线，筛选出具有临床意义的基因，经多因素Cox回归分析并构建风险模型，通过京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路富集分析了解预后相关基因的作用通路。结果 通过edgeR分析后得到6 617个差异基因（筛选标准为|log2 Fold Change|＞1，P＜0.05），其中高表达组4 094个，低表达组2 523个。通过功能富集发现，这些基因主要集中在化学物致癌作用、药物代谢-细胞色素P450系统、细胞色素P450对异生物质的代谢影响以及视黄醇代谢通路。经单因素Cox回归、R软件“survival”包生存曲线分析显示，UCN2、CST1、PROS1、SLC35E4、PEMT五个基因对ICC患者预后存在显著性影响。通过多因素Cox回归分析，CST1、PEMT、PROS1构建的风险模型对ICC患者预后具有判断作用。结论 UCN2、CST1、PROS1、SLC35E4、PEMT基因可能成为ICC预后判断指标，为后续临床试验提供数据支持。     

Developing a Brief Neuropsychological Battery for Early Diagnosis of Cognitive Impairment

ObjectivesEarly diagnosis of cognitive impairment is increasingly emphasized in the literature to facilitate timely preventive interventions. Although bedside cognitive tests such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are widely used for such early diagnostic purposes, they may not have comparable performance to a full neuropsychological battery (FNB) in diagnosing early cognitive impairment. This study investigated whether a small subset of neuropsychological tests can be added on to MoCA to match its performance to that of the FNB in discriminating mild cognitive impairment and dementia (MCI/dementia) from normal cognition.DesignCross-sectional diagnostic study.SettingAlzheimer's Disease Centers across the United States.ParticipantsOlder participants (≥50 years) who completed MoCA and the FNB (N = 9187).MeasuresThe study sample was split into two: the derivation sample (n = 1837) was used to develop a brief neuropsychological battery that best discriminated MCI/dementia (using the best-subset approach with 10-fold cross-validation); while the validation sample (n = 7350) verified its actual performance in discriminating MCI/dementia.ResultsA 3-item neuropsychological battery was identified, comprising MoCA, Benson Complex Figure Recall, and Craft Story 21 Delayed Recall. It had excellent performance in discriminating MCI/dementia from normal cognition (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] 90.0%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 89.2%-90.7%), which was comparable to that of the FNB (AUROC 88.4%, 95% CI 87.6%-89.2%). By contrast, MoCA alone had significantly worse AUROC (86.9%, 95% CI 86.0%-87.7%) than that of the FNB.Conclusions/ImplicationsUsing rigorous methods, this study developed a brief neuropsychological battery that maintained the brevity of a bedside cognitive test, while rivaling the diagnostic performance of an FNB in early cognitive impairment. This brief battery offers a viable alternative when the FNB is needed but cannot be feasibly administered in nonspecialty clinics. It can have a wider health systems effect of improving patients’ access to accurate diagnosis in early cognitive impairment and facilitating timely interventions to delay the progression of cognitive impairment.     

铜绿假单胞菌噬菌体PaP3生物学特性的研究

目的测定铜绿假单胞菌噬菌体PaP3的最佳感染复数、一步生长曲线和吸附K值及交叉吸附K值等基本生物学特性。方法按照感染复数（MOI）分别为0．0001、0．001、0．01、0．1、1和10加入噬菌体纯培养液和宿主菌，充分裂解细菌后，测定噬菌体滴度；以MOI=10的比例加入噬菌体及宿主菌，进行一步生长实验；纯化PaP3颗粒，免疫家兔，获得抗血清，通过中和反应实验测定PaP3和其抗血清之间的吸附反应常数K值。同时，利用抗血清交叉中和试验确定本室分离的三株噬菌体之间的血清学关系。结果当MOI=0．001时PaP3感染其宿主菌产生的子代噬菌体滴度最高；根据一步生长实验结果绘制一步生长曲线；通过血清交叉中和反应得出不同的吸附常数。结论PaP3最佳感染复数为0．001，感染宿主菌的潜伏期是20min，爆发期是60min，平均爆发量约为31，其抗血清反应的吸附常数K值为262。     

丘脑底核电刺激治疗苍白球毁损术后的帕金森病(12例报告)

目的探讨帕金森病(Parkinson's disease,PD)苍白球腹后部毁损术(posteroventral pallidotomy,PVP)后再行丘脑底核(subthalamic nucleus,STN)脑深部电刺激术(deep brain stimulation,DBS)的可行性、术中电生理学特点和治疗结果。方法应用MR和微电极记录技术进行靶点定位,对12例单侧PVP术后症状再次加重的PD患者实施STN-DBS手术,其中4例行毁损灶对侧的STN-DBS,8例行双侧STN-DBS。结果STN-DBS对本组12例PD患者症状有不同程度的改善,双侧STN-DBS的效果尤为明显,术后3个月的UPDRS运动及ADL评分较术前明显减少(P<0．05或0．01),美多巴的用量明显减少(P<0．01),无明显术后并发症。术中电生理记录显示毁损灶同侧的细胞放电明显低于正常情况。结论曾行单侧PVP的PD患者如面临二次手术,可以选择DBS手术,以双侧STN的DBS效果最好,可减少药物用量。