Medication Adherence App for Food Pantry Clients With Diabetes: A Feasibility Study

Low-income food pantry clients are unable to adhere to the diet and physical activity recommendations of the American Diabetes Association. The aim of the study is to test the feasibility of using a mobile phone app to improve diabetes medication adherence. Clients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes were enrolled in a mobile phone app featuring 70 days of text message reminders and incentives. The app and the 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale evaluated medication adherence. Clinically significant medication adherence of 93% was achieved with use of the app. Phone app use is feasible among urban low-income clients to improve medication adherence.     

Outcomes and risk management in type B aortic dissection patients with acute kidney injury: a concise review

PurposeType B aortic dissection is a rare but life-threatening disease. Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) was widely used for Type B aortic dissection patients in the last decade due to the lower mortality and morbidity compared with open chest surgical repair (OCSR). AKI in type B aortic dissection is a well-recognized complication and indicates poor short-term and long-term outcome. The objective of this concise review was to identify the risk factors and the impact of AKI on type B aortic dissection patients.Methods and resultsA literature search was performed using PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library with the search terms ‘type B aortic dissection’ and ‘acute kidney injury’ (AKI), and all English-language literatures published in print or available online from inception through August 2020 were thoroughly reviewed. Studies that reported relative AKI risks and outcomes in type B aortic dissection patient were included. Major mechanisms of AKI in type B aortic dissection included renal hypoperfusion, inflammation response, and the use of contrast medium. Type B aortic dissection patients with AKI significantly had increased hospital stay duration, need of renal replacement therapy, and 30-d and 1-year mortality.ConclusionsAKI in type B aortic dissection is a well-recognized complication and associated with poor short-term and long-term outcome. Early identification of high-risk patients, early diagnosis of AKI, stabilization of the hemodynamic parameters, avoidance of nephrotoxic drugs, and optimization of the use of contrast agents are the major strategies for the reduction of AKI in type B aortic dissection patients.     

Anesthetic management of parturients with Arnold Chiari malformation-I: a multicenter retrospective study

BackgroundConsensus regarding the safest mode of delivery and anesthetic management for parturients with Arnold Chiari malformation-I (ACM-I) remains controversial. This study assessed their anesthetic management and reported anesthetic complications during hospitalization for delivery.MethodsThis was a multicenter, retrospective, cohort study of patients with ACM-I undergoing vaginal or cesarean delivery. Data were obtained from the electronic databases of four United States academic institutions using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes from 2007–2017 at three sites and 2004–2017 at one site. The primary outcome was anesthetic complications.ResultsData were analyzed for 185 deliveries in 148 patients. Diagnosis of ACM-I was made prior to delivery in 147 (80%) cases. Pre-delivery neurosurgical consultation for management of ACM-I was performed in 53 (36%) patients. Pre-existing symptoms were recorded for 89 (48%) of the deliveries. Vaginal deliveries occurred in 80 (43%) cases, and 62 women (78%) received neuraxial labor analgesia. Cesarean delivery was performed in 105 (57%) cases, of which 70 women (67%) had neuraxial anesthesia and 34 (32%) received general anesthesia. Post-dural puncture headache was reported in three (2%) patients who had neuraxial anesthesia, and in two (12%) patients with syringomyelia. There was one (3%) reported case of aspiration pneumonia with general anesthesia.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that anesthetic complications occur infrequently in patients with ACM-I regardless of the anesthetic management. Although institutional preference in anesthetic and obstetric care appears to drive patient management, the findings suggest that an individualized approach has favorable outcomes in this population.     

A DNA vaccine expressing an optimized secreted FAPα induces enhanced anti-tumor activity by altering the tumor microenvironment in a murine model of breast cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), major components of the tumor microenvironment (TME), promote tumor growth and metastasis and inhibit the anti-tumor immune response. We previously constructed a DNA vaccine expressing human FAPα, which is highly expressed by CAFs, to target these cells in the TME, and observed limited anti-tumor effects in the 4T1 breast cancer model. When the treatment time was delayed until tumor nodes formed, the anti-tumor effect of the vaccine completely disappeared. In this study, to improve the safety and efficacy, we constructed a new FAPα-targeted vaccine containing only the extracellular domain of human FAPα with a tissue plasminogen activator signal sequence for enhanced antigen secretion and immunogenicity. The number of CAFs was more effectively reduced by CD8⁺ T cells induced by the new vaccine. This resulted in decreases in CCL2 and CXCL12 expression, leading to a significant decrease in the ratio of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the TME. Moreover, when mice were treated after the establishment of tumors, the vaccine could still delay tumor growth. To facilitate the future application of the vaccine in clinical trials, we further optimized the gene codons and reduced the homology between the vaccine and the original sequence, which may be convenient for evaluating the vaccine distribution in the human body. These results indicated that the new FAPα-targeted vaccine expressing an optimized secreted human FAPα induced enhanced anti-tumor activity by reducing the number of FAPα⁺ CAFs and enhancing the recruitment of effector T cells in the 4T1 tumor model mice.     

2型糖尿病患者不同脂质参数与糖尿病肾病的关系

目的:探讨2型糖尿病(T2DM)患者不同脂质参数与糖尿病肾病(DKD)发生的相关性。方法:检测226例T2DM患者血清TC、TG、LDL-C、HDL-C水平及相关生化指标,计算血浆致动脉硬化指数(AIP)以及脂质三角相关指标(TC/HDL-C、TG/HDL-C、LDL-C/HDL-C)。根据DKD临床诊断标准和Mogensen分期标准分为:Ⅰ~Ⅱ期组136例,Ⅲ期组55例,Ⅳ~Ⅴ期组35例。应用多因素logistic回归分析不同脂质参数与DKD发生的关系。结果:与Ⅰ~Ⅱ期组相比,随着DKD分期加重,TC、TG、LDL-C、LDL-C/HDL-C、AIP水平明显增高(P<0.01)。LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP与24 h尿蛋白水平呈正相关(r=0.724;r=0.769,均P<0.05)。LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP是T2DM合并DKD患者的独立预测因子(P=0.002;P=0.004)。结论:LDL-C/HDL-C和AIP对T2DM合并DKD病情进展有较高的预测价值,可为临床诊治提供参考。