The Impact of Testosterone on the QT Interval: A Systematic Review

Humans and mammals have sex-specific differences in cardiac electrophysiology, linked to the action of sex hormones in the cardiac muscle. These hormones can upregulate or downregulate the expression of ionic channels modulating the cardiac cycle through genomic and non-genomic interactions. Systematic search in PubMed, Medline and EMBASE including keywords pertaining to testosterone and QT interval. Included experimental studies and observation studies and case reports presenting the results of testosterone administration, excess or deficiency in humans and animals. Testosterone has been shown to shorten the action potential duration, by enhancing the expression of K⁺ channels and downregulating I_CaL increasing the repolarization reserve of the cardiac muscle. This effect has been observed in both genders and animals. Testosterone deficient states can promote arrhythmogenesis. The evidence in this paper may be used to guide clinical considerations, such as increased clinical surveillance of patients in testosterone deficient states using ECG.     

临床医学导论实习对医学生职业素质培养的引入作用

医学生职业素质培养是一项重要的工程,要始终贯穿于医学专业教育和人文素质教育的全过程。医学生职业素质教育要与医学基础理论知识学习、临床实习过程相结合。临床医学导论是一门专门针对低年级的医学生开设的课程,是临床医学专业课程体系的重要组成部分,是临床医学专业整个本科教育的引导环节,目的是早期引导医学生认识医学和医学的责任,为培养未来具有良好职业素养的医师打下良好的基础。     

"肾脑相济"电针对阿尔茨海默病模型小鼠行为学及IL-1β、TNF-α表达的影响

目的观察"肾脑相济"电针对阿尔茨海默病(AD)模型小鼠行为学和大脑皮质炎性因子白细胞介素-1β(IL-1b)和肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)表达的影响,探究"肾脑相济"电针疗法治疗阿尔茨海默病的作用机理。方法将7月龄雄性SAMP8小鼠随机分成模型组、西药组和电针组,每组6只;将SAMR1小鼠作为对照组。西药组给予盐酸多?哌齐灌胃,电针组电针百会、肾俞和三阴交。采用Morris水迷宫观察小鼠行为学,应用免疫组化法、Western Blot法测定大脑皮质区IL-1b、TNF-α的阳性细胞数和蛋白表达。结果与对照组比较,模型组小鼠学习记忆能力明显下降,IL-1b、TNF-α的表达升高,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);与模型组比较,西药组和电针组小鼠学习记忆能力增强,IL-1b、TNF-α的表达降低,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);与西药组比较,电针组小鼠学习记忆能力及IL-1b、TNF-α的表达变化不明显,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论"肾脑相济"电针疗法可以改善SAMP8模型小鼠的学习和记忆能力,降低大脑皮质区IL-1b、TNF-α的含量,从而对阿尔茨海默病达到治疗效果。     

D-二聚体和中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值评估卵巢癌预后的临床价值

目的:研究D-二聚体（D-dimer,D-D）和中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值（neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio,NLR）与卵巢癌临床病理特征及预后的关系。方法:回顾性分析2012年1月至2015年12月于我院妇科行手术治疗的卵巢恶性肿瘤患者387例和卵巢良性肿瘤患者250例临床资料。比较血清D-D和外周血NLR在卵巢良、恶性肿瘤中的表达水平；确定D-D和NLR临界值，D-D+NLR=0（D-D≤0.555 mg/L和NLR≤2.792）,D-D+NLR=1（D-D>0.555 mg/L或NLR>2.792），D-D+NLR=2（D-D>0.555 mg/L和NLR>2.792），分析两者联合的评分系统与卵巢癌临床病理特征和预后的关系。结果:血清D-D和外周血NLR在卵巢良、恶性肿瘤患者中的表达水平有统计学差异（P＜0.001）。D-D高水平组与低水平组相比，患者的分期、分级、淋巴结转移、腹水、CA125水平、残余瘤大小有统计学差异（P＜0.05）。NLR高水平组与低水平组相比，患者的年龄、分期、淋巴结转移、腹水、CA125水平、残余瘤大小有统计学差异（P＜0.05）。D-D+NLR为0、1、2分的平均总生存期（OS）分别为70个月、58个月、40个月。D-D+NLR评分是影响OS的独立预后因素。结论:术前血清D-D和外周血NLR与卵巢癌临床病理特征和OS相关，D-D+NLR评分可以作为评估卵巢癌预后的指标。     

Effect of backing films on the transdermal delivery of cyclobenzaprine patch

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of backing films on transdermal delivery of cyclobenzaprine patch. Different backing films were chosen to prepare the cyclobenzaprine transdermal patch. The cumulative amount of cyclobenzaprine released from different patches was evaluated in vitro. To investigate the interaction between cyclobenzaprine and backing films, the partitioning experiments and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy were performed. The cumulative amount of cyclobenzaprine released from the patch with Cotran™ 9700 as backing film was less than that of other patches with different backing films. Furthermore, the cumulative amount of cyclobenzaprine released from the patch with Cotran™ 9700 as backing film decreased significantly after 7 d storage at room condition. The partitioning experiments indicated a strong adsorption of cyclobenzaprine onto the Cotran™ 9700, which could explain the decrease of cumulative amount of cyclobenzaprine released from the patch with Cotran™ 9700 as backing film. According to the ATR-FTIR results, there was no interaction between Cotran™ 9700 and cyclobenzaprine. The effect of backing films on the release behavior of cyclobenzaprine transdermal patch was attributed to the adsorption of cyclobenzaprine onto the Cotran™ 9700.     

The effects of carnitine supplementation on clinical characteristics of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

ObjectiveThe beneficial effects of carnitine supplementation on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease are unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of carnitine supplementation on liver function, lipid profile, body mass index, body weight, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.MethodsA comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar databases were performed. Only randomized placebo-controlled human studies that examined the effects of carnitine supplementation on liver function, lipid profile, body mass index, body weight, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance up to September 2019 were included. Fixed effects or random-effects models were applied to compute the pooled effect size. Heterogeneity assessments were performed using Cochran’s Q test and I-squared statistics. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Jaded scale.ResultsA total of 5 articles were selected, including 334 individuals (167 in control and 167 in intervention groups). The results demonstrated that carnitine supplementation significantly reduced homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (WMD: −0.91; 95 % CI: −1.11, −0.72; p < 0.001, I² = 0.0 %) and the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (WMD: −16.62; 95 % CI: −28.11, −5.14; IU/l; p = 0.005, I² = 93.5 %), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (WMD: -33.39; 95 % CI: −45.13, −21.66; IU/l; p < 0.001, I² = 93.4 %), and triglycerides (TG) (WMD: −22.13; 95 % CI: −38.91, −5.34; mg/dl; p = 0.01; I² = 0.0 %). However, the results of the pooled effect size did not show any significant effect of carnitine supplementation on body mass index (BMI) (WMD: 0.07; 95 % CI: −0.15, 0.29; p = 0.55; I² = 0.0 %), body weight (WMD: −0.28; 95 % CI: −2.23, 1.68; p = 0.78; I² = 45.7 %), the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase (γGT) (WMD: −11.31; 95 % CI: −24.35, 1.73; IU/l; p = 0.09, I² = 61.1 %), cholesterol (WMD: −13.58; 95 % CI: −46.77, 19.60; mg/dl; p = 0.42; I² = 94.9 %), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) (WMD: 1.36; 95 % CI: −0.96, 3.68; mg/dl; p = 0.25; I² = 64.7 %), and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) (WMD: −14.85; 95 % CI: −45.43, 15.73; mg/dl; p = 0.34; I² = 96.4 %).ConclusionsThis analysis shows that carnitine supplementation for patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease demonstrates a reduction in AST, ALT, TG levels and HOMA-IR. However, no significant effect of carnitine supplementation was observed on BMI, body weight, the levels of γGT, TC, HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.     

重症肌无力相关抗体的研究进展

作为一种累及神经肌肉接头的自身免疫性疾病,重症肌无力(myasthenia gravis,MG)的发病机制与自身免疫性抗体密切相关。关于MG相关抗体,研究最多且最为明确的是乙酰胆碱受体抗体(acetylcholine receptor antibody,AChR-Ab),由于存在AChR-Ab阴性的MG患者,近年来学者们开始热衷于研究AChR-Ab以外的其他抗体,如肌肉特异性酪氨酸激酶抗体、低密度脂蛋白4抗体等,并进行相应治疗方案的探索。该文对MG相关抗体的研究进展进行综述,为今后治疗该病提供临床依据和参考。     

The impact of circumferential tumour location on the clinical outcome of rectal cancer patients managed with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision

AimTo investigate the impact of circumferential tumour location on neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) response and its prognostic value for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients after CRT and surgery.MethodsA retrospective study was performed on 486 patients with LARC who received neoadjuvant CRT and surgical treatment. The rate of pathological complete response (pCR) and survival among patients with anteriorly, laterally, and posteriorly located tumours were compared. Logistic regression was performed to identify pCR predictors.ResultsThe anterior tumours exhibited the highest pCR rate of 26.7%, which was slightly higher than the 20.0% and 12.3% for lateral and posterior tumours, respectively (P = 0.006). The 5-year Overall survival (OS) rates after CRT were similar among the anterior, lateral, and posterior groups (anterior vs lateral vs posterior: 81.1% vs 89.9% vs 84.1%, P = 0.6368). Multivariate analysis revealed that the circumferential tumour location, post-CRT serum CEA and post-CRT tumour thickness measured by MRI were independently correlated with achieving pCR.ConclusionThis study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, to show that anterior LARC exhibited the highest pCR rate after neoadjuvant CRT. Patients with anterior rectal cancers do not have different prognoses from those with non-anterior cancers if they undergo neoadjuvant CRT.