Fragmentation of care as a barrier to optimal ESKD management

Caring for patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in the United States is challenging, due in part to the complex epidemiology of the disease's progression as well as the ways in which care is delivered. As CKD progresses toward ESKD, the number of comorbidities increases and care involves multiple healthcare providers from multiple subspecialties. This occurs in the context of a fragmented US healthcare delivery system that is traditionally siloed by provider specialty, organization, as well as systems of payment and administration. This article describes the role of care fragmentation in the delivery of optimal ESKD care and identifies research gaps in the evidence across the continuum of care. We then consider the impact of care fragmentation on ESKD care from the patient and health system perspectives and explore opportunities for system-level interventions aimed at improving care for patients with ESKD.     

Connexin 36 Mediates Orofacial Pain Hypersensitivity Through GluK2 and TRPA1

Trigeminal neuralgia is a debilitating condition, and the pain easily spreads to other parts of the face. Here, we established a mouse model of partial transection of the infraorbital nerve (pT-ION) and found that the Connexin 36 (Cx36) inhibitor mefloquine caused greater alleviation of pT-ION-induced cold allodynia compared to the reduction of mechanical allodynia. Mefloquine reversed the pT-ION-induced upregulation of Cx36, glutamate receptor ionotropic kainate 2 (GluK2), transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), and phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK) in the trigeminal ganglion. Cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia induced by pT-ION or by virus-mediated overexpression of Cx36 in the trigeminal ganglion was reversed by the GluK2 antagonist NS102, and knocking down Cx36 expression in Nav1.8-expressing nociceptors by injecting virus into the orofacial skin area of Nav1.8-Cre mice attenuated cold allodynia but not mechanical allodynia. In conclusion, we show that Cx36 contributes greatly to the development of orofacial pain hypersensitivity through GluK2, TRPA1, and p-ERK signaling.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s12264-020-00594-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Exosomes from miRNA‐126‐modified endothelial progenitor cells alleviate brain injury and promote functional recovery after stroke

AimsWe previously showed that the protective effects of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)‐released exosomes (EPC‐EXs) on endothelium in diabetes. However, whether EPC‐EXs are protective in diabetic ischemic stroke is unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of EPC‐EXs on diabetic stroke mice and tested whether miR‐126 enriched EPC‐EXs (EPC‐EXs^miR126) have enhanced efficacy.MethodsThe db/db mice subjected to ischemic stroke were intravenously administrated with EPC‐EXs 2 hours after ischemic stroke. The infarct volume, cerebral microvascular density (MVD), cerebral blood flow (CBF), neurological function, angiogenesis and neurogenesis, and levels of cleaved caspase‐3, miR‐126, and VEGFR2 were measured on day 2 and 14.ResultsWe found that (a) injected EPC‐EXs merged with brain endothelial cells, neurons, astrocytes, and microglia in the peri‐infarct area; (b) EPC‐EXs^miR126 were more effective than EPC‐EXs in decreasing infarct size and increasing CBF and MVD, and in promoting angiogenesis and neurogenesis as well as neurological functional recovery; (c) These effects were accompanied with downregulated cleaved caspase‐3 on day 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) upregulation till day 14.ConclusionOur results indicate that enrichment of miR126 enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of EPC‐EXs on diabetic ischemic stroke by attenuating acute injury and promoting neurological function recovery.     

听神经瘤术后面神经功能损伤危险因素分析

目的分析影响听神经瘤患者术后短期及长期面神经功能的危险因素。 方法回顾性分析厦门大学附属第一医院神经外科自2015年1月至2018年6月收治的62例听神经瘤患者的临床资料。于术后7 d及术后6个月对所有患者的面神经功能进行评估。收集可能与患者术后早期及长期面神经功能障碍存在相关性的因素，采用Logistic单因素与多因素回归对相关因素与患者术后短期及长期面神经功能的关系进行分析。 结果术后7 d，21例（33.9%）患者面神经功能正常，41例（66.1%）患者出现面神经功能损伤；术后6个月，49例（79.0%）患者面神经功能为正常，13例（21.0%）患者面神经功能损伤。Logistic单因素回归分析结果显示：肿瘤最大直径越大、肿瘤与面神经黏连越紧密，患者术后7 d发生面神经功能损伤的可能性越大（P=0.002、0.002）；术前临床症状持续时间为患者术后6个月面神经功能障碍的危险因素（P=0.035）。Logistic多因素回归分析结果显示：肿瘤与面神经的黏连程度、肿瘤最大直径为患者术后7 d面神经功能障碍的独立危险因素（P=0.003、0.014）；术前临床症状持续时间、肿瘤最大直径为患者术后6个月面神经功能障碍的独立危险因素（P=0.010、0.030）。 结论肿瘤与面神经的黏连越紧密、肿瘤最大直径越大，患者术后7 d发生面神经功能损伤的可能性越大。患者术前临床症状持续时间越长、肿瘤最大直径越大，术后6个月发生面神经功能损伤的可能性越大。     

Evaluation of Degenerative Lumbar Scoliosis After Short Segment Decompression and Fusion

The objective of this study was to investigate short segment decompression of degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) and the efficiency of fusion treatment.After DLS surgery, the patients were retrospectively reviewed using the VAS (visual analog scale) and ODI (Oswestry Disability Index) to assess clinical outcomes. All patients underwent posterior lumbar decompressive laminectomy, pedicle screw internal fixation, and posterolateral bone graft fusion surgery. Radiographic measurements included the scoliotic Cobb angle, the fused Cobb angle, the anterior intervertebral angle (AIA), the sagittal intervertebral angle (SIA), and lumbar lordosis angle. The relationships between these parameters were examined by bivariate Pearson analysis and linear regression analysis.Preoperatively, the Cobb angle at the scoliotic segment was 15.4°, which decreased to 10.2° immediately following surgery (P < 0.05). The AIA significantly increased by the last follow-up (4.4 ± 3.4) compared with pre- and postoperative values (2.5 ± 2.8 and 2.2 ± 2.4, respectively; P < 0.05). However, the scoliotic Cobb angle and the AIA did not correlate with the VAS or ODI scores. At the final follow-up, no patients had pseudoarthrosis or internal instrumentation-related complications.Short fusion surgical treatment results in limited DLS correction, with correction loss over time. The AIA between the upper adjacent segment and proximal fused vertebra continues to increase postoperatively, which does not exacerbate clinical symptoms, as reflected by the low reoperation rates for repairing degeneration at adjacent levels.