Understanding the Influence of Nanocarrier-Mediated Brain Delivery on Therapeutic Performance Through Pharmacokinetic-Pharmacodynamic Modeling

This study aimed at evaluating how encapsulation in a regular nanocarrier (NC) (providing extended circulation time) or in a brain-targeting NC (providing prolonged circulation time and increased brain uptake) may influence the therapeutic index compared with the unformulated drug and to explore the key parameters affecting therapeutic performance using a model-based approach. Pharmacokinetic (PK) models were built with chosen PK parameters. For a scenario where central effect depends on area under the unbound brain concentration curve and peripheral toxicity relates to peak unbound plasma concentration, dose-effect and drug-side effect curves were constructed, and the therapeutic index was evaluated. Regular NC improved the therapeutic index compared with the unformulated drug due to reduced peripheral toxicity, while brain-targeting NC enhanced the therapeutic index by lowering peripheral toxicity and increasing central effect. Decreasing drug release rate or systemic clearance of NC with drug still encapsulated could increase the therapeutic index. Also, a drug with shorter half-life would therapeutically benefit more from a NC encapsulation. This work provides insights into how a NC for brain delivery should be optimized to maximize the therapeutic performance and is helpful to predict if and to what extent a drug with certain PK properties would obtain therapeutic benefit from nanoencapsulation.     

The relationships among monocyte subsets,miRNAs and inflammatory cytokines in patients with acute myocardial infarction

Background

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) causes irreversible myocardial damage and release of inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines and miRNAs. We aimed to investigate changes in the levels of cytokines (IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10), miRNAs profiles (miR-146 and miR-155) and distribution of different monocyte subsets (CD14++CD16-, CD14++CD16+, CD14+CD16++) in the acute and post-healing phases of AMI.

肾炎1号方联合西药治疗肾病综合征疗效及对患者凝血指标、免疫功能的影响

目的:探讨肾炎1号方联合西药治疗肾病综合征临床疗效及对患者凝血指标、免疫功能的影响。方法:选取肾病综合征患者共52例,分为对照组26例、治疗组26例。两组患者均予以基础治疗,对照组在基础治疗上给予泼尼松片治疗。治疗组在对照组基础上加用肾炎1号方治疗。结果:与对照组治疗后相比,治疗组治疗24 h后Upr、CHOL、TG、Scr、Fg、D-D均下降,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗组治疗后补体C₃升高明显,与对照组比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗后治疗组中医证候积分各项均低于对照组,治疗组总有效率88.46%高于对照组的76.92%,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:肾炎1号方联合西药治疗肾病综合征临床效果较好,能更有效地控制患者蛋白尿、升高血清白蛋白水平、降低血清胆固醇,并且能调节机体体液免疫紊乱、改善高凝状态。     

SI和DBP对女性产后出血的风险预测效果

目的考察休克指数(shock index,SI)和舒张压(diastolic blood pressure,DBP)对女性产后出血的风险预测效果。方法选取2016年1月～2018年12月在我院行产检并分娩的320例产后出血孕妇作为研究组,另外选取同期进行正常分娩的健康孕妇240例作为对照组,比较两组患者的一般临床资料、血红蛋白(hemoglobin,Hb)、舒张压(diastolic blood pressure,DBP)、收缩压(systolic blood pressure,SBP)、心率(heart rate,HR)及休克指数(shock index,SI),并采用Ordinal逻辑回归分析各参数对产后出血的风险预警。结果两组患者在年龄、孕周、BMI及新生儿体重相比,差异无统计学意义(P0.05),而孕次相比,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);与对照组产后24 h相比,研究组产后24 h患者的DBP、SBP及Hb均显著降低,而HR和SI显著升高(P0.05);与对照组产前相比,产后24 h患者的SBP、HR及SI显著降低(P0.05);与研究组产前相比,产后24 h患者的DBP、SBP、HR及Hb均显著降低,而SI显著升高,差异具有统计学意义(P0.05);Ordinal逻辑回归分析结果显示,休克指数和舒张压对产后出血具有预警作用(P0.05)。结论休克指数和舒张压可作为评估女性产后出血的风险预测指标,临床应密切监护。     

Ultrasound-Assist Extrusion Methods for the Fabrication of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Isotactic polypropylenes (iPP) with different melt flow indexes (MFI) were used to fabricate nanocomposites (NCs) with 10 wt % loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods to determine their effect on the morphology, melt flow, and electrical properties of the NCs. Three different types of iPPs were used with MFIs of 2.5, 34 and 1200 g/10 min. Four different NC fabrication methods based on melt extrusion were used. In the first method melt extrusion fabrication without ultrasound assistance was used. In the second and third methods, an ultrasound probe attached to a hot chamber located at the exit of the die was used to subject the sample to fixed frequency and variable frequency, respectively. The fourth method is similar to the first method, with the difference being that the carbon nanotubes were treated in a fluidized air-bed with an ultrasound probe before being used in the fabrication of the NCs with no ultrasound assistance during extrusion. The samples were characterized by MFI, Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical surface resistivity, and electric charge. MFI decreases in all cases with addition of MWCNTs with the largest decrease observed for samples with the highest MFI. The surface resistivity, which ranged from 10¹³ to 10⁵ Ω/sq, and electric charge, were observed to depend on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. A relationship between agglomerate size and area ratio with electric charge was found. Several trends in the overall data were identified and are discussed in terms of MFI and the different fabrication methods.     

术前预后营养指数对肺癌术后并发症风险的预测价值

目的:探讨术前预后营养指数（prognostic nutritional index，PNI）对肺癌术后并发症风险的预测价值。方法:回顾分析2015年12月至2018年3月于我院行手术治疗的非小细胞肺癌患者180例，收集患者的临床资料以及术后并发症的发生情况，采用Logistic回归分析患者术后并发症的影响因素。结果:多因素Logistic回归分析表明，术前低PNI值是术后并发症Clavien-Dindo评分≥II级的独立危险因素（OR:1.10，95%CI:1.02~1.17，P=0.023）；根据术前PNI值将患者分为三组，分别为PNI≥50组（n=113）、45≤PNI<50组（n=47）、PNI<45组（n=20），各组术后并发症Clavien-Dindo评分≥II级以及Clavien-Dindo评分≥III级发生的比例分别为22.1%、40.4%、40.0%和6.2%、17.0%、25.0%，不同PNI值术后并发症发生率存在显著差异；PNI值可作为术后并发症发生风险及气胸、肺外感染的独立危险因素。结论:PNI值可作为肺癌患者术后并发症风险的有效预测因子。     

Clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease in female SLE patients: Interplay between body mass index and bone mineral density

Background and aims

Since accelerated atherosclerosis has been reported in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), predictive biomarkers of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are needed. Among non-traditional risk factors, bone mineral density (BMD) has been related to CVD. However, its role in SLE remains controversial. This study aims to analyze the associations of subclinical atherosclerosis with traditional and non-traditional CV risk factors.