People living in disadvantaged areas faced greater challenges in staying active and using recreational facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aimed to understand the perceived effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity, recreation walking, and use of recreational facilities; and if the COVID-19 pandemic amplified disparities in physical activity, recreational walking, and use of recreational facilities related to the levels of neighborhood disadvantage. Recreational walking and the use of neighborhood streets and green spaces significantly decreased in high deprivation areas but not in low deprivation areas during the pandemic. While COVID-19 has negatively affected overall recreational activities, the inequitable impact on recreational walking and use of outdoor recreational facilities has been more evident in disadvantaged neighborhoods with greater deprivation.     

健脾益气法对结直肠炎病变后诱发结直肠癌小鼠的影响研究

目的:观察健脾益气中药对结直肠炎病变后诱发结直肠癌小鼠白细胞介素(Interleukin,IL)-6和表皮细胞生长因子(Epidermal Growth Factor,EGF)蛋白的影响。方法:将30只雄性C57BL/6小鼠随机分为对照组、模型组和治疗组,每组10只。采用偶氮氧化甲烷/葡聚糖硫酸钠方法建立结直肠炎相关结直肠癌小鼠模型,治疗组以加减四君子汤颗粒加蒸馏水配成溶液,药物质量浓度19.92%,3.32 g/kg灌胃,模型组以蒸馏水灌胃。4周后处死各组小鼠并留取血液和结直肠组织组织标本,酶联免疫吸附试验(Enzyme-linked immunosorbent method,ELISA)法检测血清IL-6浓度,苏木精-伊红染色法(Hematoxylin-eosin Staining,简称HE染色法)染色镜下观察小鼠结肠组织病理变化,Western-blot法检测EGF蛋白表达。结果:健脾益气治疗组小鼠的体质量较模型组明显增加,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01);治疗组小鼠血清IL-6表达量比模型组显著下降,差异有统计学意义(P<0.01);治疗组小鼠的EGF蛋白表达显著降低,与模型组比较,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:健脾益气中药能增加结直肠炎病变后诱发结直肠癌小鼠的体质量,减少炎症因子IL-6的表达和降低EGF蛋白表达,可为健脾益气中药抗结肠癌临床应用提供科学依据。     

Hybrid Assistive Limb® for sporadic inclusion body myositis: A case series

We evaluated the efficacy of rehabilitation therapy with Hybrid Assistive Limb® (HAL; hereafter HAL therapy) in three patients diagnosed with sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) who were hospitalized to undergo HAL therapy. Among them, one patient participated in eight courses and the other two in two courses of HAL therapy between 2017 and 2020. We determined the mean rate of improvement in two-minute walking distance and 6 m walking speed at the time of hospital discharge. After HAL therapy, we confirmed the patients’ desire to continue the use of HAL. In one patient, we observed improvements of 146.0% and 120.0% in two-minute walk and 6 m walking speed, respectively, after the first course of HAL therapy; these values are 133.7% and 130% after the eighth course of HAL therapy. These values exceeded 90% in the other two patients after the second course of HAL therapy. HAL therapy maintained both quantity and quality of ambulation and showed positive psychological effects on patient conditions because it reduces exercise load and facilitates safety. While HAL therapy might be effective in maintaining and improving ambulation in patients with sIBM, we should consider to discontinue HAL therapy as it increased risk of falling.     

Prediction of the response to photodynamic therapy in patients with chronic central serous chorioretinopathy based on optical coherence tomography using deep learning

PurposeTo assess the prediction of the response to photodynamic therapy (PDT) in chronic central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) based on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images using deep learning (DL).MethodsRetrospective study including 216 eyes of 175 patients with CSCR and persistent subretinal fluid (SRF) who underwent half-fluence PDT. SD-OCT macular examination was performed before (baseline) and 3 months after treatment. Patients were classified into groups by experts based on the response to PDT: Group 1, complete SRF resorption (n = 100); Group 2, partial SRF resorption (n = 66); and Group 3, absence of any SRF resorption (n = 50). This work proposes different computational approaches: 1st approach compares all groups; 2nd compares groups 1 vs. 2 and 3 together; 3rd compares groups 2 vs. 3.ResultsThe mean age was 55.6 ± 10.9 years and 70.3% were males. In the first approach, the algorithm showed a precision of up to 57% to detect the response to treatment in group 1 based on the initial scan, with a mean average accuracy of 0.529 ± 0.035. In the second model, the mean accuracy was higher (0.670 ± 0.046). In the third approach, the algorithm showed a precision of 0.74 ± 0.12 to detect the response to treatment in group 2 (partial SRF resolution) and 0.69 ± 0.15 in group 3 (absence of SRF resolution).ConclusionDespite the high clinical variability in the response of chronic CSCR to PDT, this DL algorithm offers an objective and promising tool to predict the response to PDT treatment in clinical practice.     

一种由大体积恶性胸腔积液中分离肿瘤细胞的方法初探

背景与目的恶性胸腔积液（malignant plural effusion, MPE）是液体活检基因检测的常用标本来源，本研究评估一种从大体积MPE中分离肿瘤细胞方法的分离效果及其在基因检测中的应用前景。方法收集20例伴MPE的晚期肺癌患者一次胸腔积液引流的全部MPE（> 500 mL），联合运用细胞分离介质Percoll和Ficoll分离肿瘤细胞，统计分离情况。对其中既往行组织基因检测的肺腺癌患者，分别使用胸腔积液上清游离DNA（tumor derived DNA from pleural effusion supernatant, etDNA），总细胞DNA及分离肿瘤细胞DNA（DNA from tumor cells in pleural effusion, ETC-DNA）3种成分进行二代基因测序，比较检测情况。结果从MPE中分离得到细胞中位数量8.50×10⁴个（上下四分位间距9.25×10³-3.75×10⁵），肿瘤细胞纯度85.50%±5.80%。对10例既往行组织表皮生长因子受体（epidermal growth factor receptor, EGFR）基因检测的患者，etDNA、总细胞DNA及ETC-DNA EGFR基因突变检出率分别为70.00%、50.00%、70.00%。ETC-DNA基因检测阳性率与组织（P > 0.999, kappa=1.000）和etDNA（P > 0.999, kappa=1.000）一致性均良好。etDNA、总细胞DNA、ETC-DNA EGFR基因突变中位丰度分别为16.05%（4.78%-43.06%）、1.09%（0.00%-2.39%）和33.02%（18.50%-76.70%）。ETC-DNA检测丰度倾向高于etDNA，但差异无统计学意义。结论该提取方法可以有效地从大体积MPE中分离出大量高纯度肿瘤细胞，利用提取出的肿瘤细胞进行基因检测可能可以提高基因检测效能，值得进一步研究。     

Can cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors convert inoperable breast cancer relapse to operability? A case report

BACKGROUND Pathological complete response(pCR) is rare in hormone receptor-positive(HR+)HER2-negative breast cancer(BC) treated with either endocrine therapy(ET) or chemotherapy. Radical resection of locoregional relapse, although potentially curative in some cases, is challenging when the tumor invades critical structures.The oral cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib in combination with ET has obtained a significant increase in objective response rates and progression-free survival in patients with advanced BC and is now being evaluated in the neoadjuvant setting. We present a clinical case of a patient with an inoperable locoregional relapse of HR+ HER2-negative BC who experienced p CR after treatment with palbociclib.CASE SUMMARY We report the clinical case of a 60-year-old patient who presented with an inoperable locoregional relapse of HR+, HER2-negative BC 10 years after the diagnosis of the primary tumor. During a routine follow-up visit, breast magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography/computed tomography revealed a 4-cm lesion in the right subclavicular region, infiltrating the chest wall and extending to the subclavian vessels, but without bone or visceral involvement. Treatment was begun with palbociclib plus letrozole, converting the disease to operability over a period of 6 mo. Surgery was performed and a p CR achieved. Of note, during treatment the patient experienced a very uncommon toxicity characterized by burning tongue and glossodynia associated with dysgeusia, paresthesia, dysesthesia, and xerostomia. A reduction in the dose of palbociclib did not provide relief and treatment with the inhibitor was thus discontinued, resolving the tongue symptoms. Laboratory exams were unremarkable. Given that this was a late relapse, the tumor was classified asendocrine-sensitive, a condition associated with high sensitivity to palbociclib.CONCLUSION This case highlights the potential of the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor plus ET combination to achieve pCR in locoregional relapse of BC, enabling surgical resection of a lesion initially considered inoperable.