Respecting the circle of life: one year outcomes from a randomized controlled comparison of an HIV risk reduction intervention for American Indian adolescents

Potential for widespread transmission of HIV/AIDS among American Indian (AI) adolescents exists, yet no evidence-based interventions (EBIs) have been adapted and evaluated with this population. Intensive psychoeducation may improve knowledge and decision-making which could potentially translate to reductions in HIV risk behaviors. A peer group randomized controlled comparison of an adapted EBI vs. control was delivered over an eight-day summer basketball camp in one reservation-based tribal community to adolescents ages 13–19. Outcome data were gathered immediately post-camp and at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Self-selected peer groups were randomized to intervention (n = 138) or control (n = 129) conditions for a total sample of 267 participants (56.2% female), mean age 15.1 years (SD = 1.7). Intervention participants had better condom use self-efficacy post-camp (Adjusted Mean Difference [AMD] = ?0.75, p < 0.005) and at 6 (AMD = ?0.44, p < 0.005) and 12 months (AMD = ?0.23, p < 0.05) follow-up. Intervention participants also had higher HIV prevention and transmission knowledge (post-camp: AMD = 0.07, p < 0.01; 6 months: AMD = 0.06, p < 0.01) were more likely to believe condoms prevent sexually transmitted infections (post-camp: RR = 1.41, p < 0.005; 6 months: RR = 1.34, p < 0.05), to talk with an adult about HIV/AIDS (post-camp: RR=1.78, p < 0.005; 6 months: RR = 1.14, p < 0.005), had higher partner negotiation efficacy related to substance use during sex (post-camp: AMD = 0.37, p < 0.01), and were more likely to intend to use a condom (post-camp: RR = 1.39, p < 0.01). The adapted intervention had short- and medium-term impacts on AI adolescent risk for HIV/AIDS, but attenuated at 12 months. Intervention delivery through a community-based camp is feasible and acceptable with strong retention. Additional study is needed to evaluate the adapted intervention's impact on sexual risk behaviors and if booster sessions and parent involvement translate to long-term impacts.     

Repeat resection in recurrent glioblastoma (3rGBM) Trial: A randomized care trial

BackgroundThe prognosis for patients with recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) is dismal, and the question of repeat surgery at time of recurrence is common. Re-operation in the management of these patients remains controversial, as there is no randomized evidence of benefit. An all-inclusive pragmatic care trial is needed to evaluate the role of repeat resection.Methods3rGBM is a multicenter, pragmatic, prospective, parallel-group randomized care trial, with 1:1 allocation to repeat resection or standard care with no repeat resection. To test the hypothesis that repeat resection can improve overall survival by at least 3 months (from 6 to 9 months), 250 adult patients with prior resection of pathology-proven glioblastoma for whom the attending surgeon believes repeat resection may improve quality survival will be enrolled. A surrogate measure of quality of life, the number of days outside of hospital/nursing/palliative care facility, will also be compared. Centers are invited to participate without financial compensation and without contracts. Clinicians may apply to local authorities to approve an investigator-led in-house trial, using a common protocol, web-based randomization platform, and simple standardized case report forms.DiscussionThe 3rGBM trial is a modern transparent care research framework with no additional risks, tests, or visits other than what patients would encounter in normal care. The burden of proof remains on repeat surgical management of recurrent GBM, because this management has yet to be shown beneficial. The trial is designed to help patients and surgeons manage the uncertainty regarding optimal care.Clinical Trial Registrationhttp://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT04838782.     

八段锦治疗神经根型颈椎病的系统评价与Meta分析

[目的] 系统评价八段锦治疗神经根型颈椎病的临床疗效。[方法] 计算机检索中国知网数据库（CNKI）、维普资讯中文科技期刊数据库（VIP）、万方数据库（Wan-fang）、中国生物医学文献数据库（SinoMed）、Web of science、Clinical Trials gov、Pubmed、EMBASE、CENTRAL、Cochrane Library，查找出八段锦治疗神经根型颈椎病的随机对照试验（RCT），检索时限均从建库至2019年7月1日。两名研究者按照纳入与排除标准独立进行文献筛选、资料提取和偏倚风险评估，应用RevMan 5.3软件对最后纳入的研究进行Meta分析。[结果] 最终纳入10个RCT，共843例患者。Meta分析结果显示：八段锦+常规治疗与常规治疗比较，其临床疗效的总有效率差异具有统计学意义[OR=4.19，95% CI（2.42，7.26），P<0.000 01]；八段锦+常规治疗与常规治疗+颈部“米”字操比较，其临床疗效的总有效率差异具有统计学意义[OR=3.41，95% CI（1.56，7.46），P=0.002]；八段锦+常规治疗与常规治疗比较，其疼痛视觉模拟评分法（VAS）评分差异具有统计学意义[MD=-1.90，95% CI（-1.97，-1.83），P<0.000 01]。[结论] 基于现有的研究，该系统评价显示，与常规治疗相比，八段锦+常规治疗在临床疗效总有效率、VAS评分方面有一定的治疗优势。与常规治疗+颈部“米”字操比较，八段锦+常规治疗在临床疗效的总有效率方面有一定的治疗优势。但由于纳入研究的质量不高，仍需要大样本、多中心、随机、双盲试验及试验参照CONSORT标准和STRICTA声明进行RCT研究。     

A randomized study on the effect of modified behavioral activation treatment for depressive symptoms in rural left-behind elderly

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a modified behavioral activation treatment (MBAT) intervention on reducing depressive symptoms in rural left-behind elderly.

Method: This is a randomized study registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR-IOR-17011289). Eighty rural left-behind elderly people who had a Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) score between 11 and 25 were randomly assigned to the intervention (n?=?40) and control group (n?=?40). The intervention group received both MBAT and regular treatment for 8 weeks while the control group received regular treatment. Both groups were assessed with the GDS, Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (OHQ) at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at 3 months post-intervention.

Results: There were a total of 73 participants that completed the intervention. The scores of GDS and BAI decreased significantly, but the scores of OHQ increased significantly in the intervention group after 8 sessions of MBAT (P?<?.01). The reduction in depression symptoms after the intervention was maintained at the 3-month follow-up. Significant differences in GDS, BAI, and OHQ scores were observed between the intervention group and the control group (P?<?.01).

Conclusion: MBAT produced a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms than regular care in rural left-behind elderly.

Clinical or methodological significance of this article: A modified behavioral activation (BA) psychotherapy can significantly reduce the recurrence and seriousness of depression symptoms in the left-behind elderly with mild to moderate depression. This study also suggests that further study of the MBAT as an intervention will provide a direction for the management of mental health in rural left-behind elders.     

COH outcomes in breast cancer patients for fertility preservation: a comparison with the expected response by age

PurposeBreast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed during childbearing age, and fertility preservation is becoming increasingly more essential. However, recent studies indicate a possible poorer response to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) in cancer patients than in non-cancer controls and a negative impact of BRCA mutations on female fertility. This study aims to evaluate ovarian response and the number of mature oocytes (MII) vitrified in women with breast cancer, with or without BRCA mutation, comparing them to the expected response according to an age-related nomogram.MethodsThis is a retrospective observational study involving sixty-one breast cancer patients who underwent COH for oocyte cryopreservation. The age-specific nomogram was built using 3871 patients who underwent COH due to oocyte donation, fertility preservation for non-medical reasons, or FIVET for male factor exclusively.ResultsThe mean number of oocytes retrieved was 13.03, whereas the mean number of MII oocytes was 10.00. After the application of the z-score, no statistically significant differences were found compared with the expected response in the general population, neither by dividing patients according to the presence or absence of BRCA mutation nor according to the phase in which they initiated stimulation.ConclusionThe results obtained do not support the notion of a negative impact of the BRCA mutation on the ovarian response of women with breast cancer. Women with breast cancer undergoing COH for fertility preservation can expect the ovarian response predicted for their age.     

彩色多普勒超声诊断卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转的临床意义

目的：探讨彩色多普勒超声诊断卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转的临床意义。方法方便选取2012―2015年该院收治的58例疑似卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转患者作为观察目标，入选病例均应用彩色多普勒超声进行检查，并将检查结果同术后病理检查结果进行比较。结果58例患者中，术后病理证实卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转者51例，彩色多普勒超声共确诊49例，检查准确率为96.1%；囊壁增厚、腹腔或盆腔积液、可见混合型团块是卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转的主要彩超表现。结论卵巢肿瘤蒂扭转应用彩色多普勒超声诊断，可显著提高诊断准确率，具有积极的临床使用和推广价值。     

Effects of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer: A protocol of randomized controlled trial

Background:Gastrointestinal complications and malnutrition are common problems that affect postoperative rehabilitation and survival of patients with esophageal cancer. Evidence has shown that probiotics have a positive effect on improving gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of patients with esophageal cancer after surgery, but there is a lack of prospective studies on this topic. We designed this prospective randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status in patients with postoperative esophageal cancer.Methods:This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. It was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee of our hospital. 192 patients will be randomly divided into probiotics group and the placebo group in a 1:1 ratio. After operation, probiotics and placebo will be given orally for 8 weeks. The indexes of nutritional status and incidence of digestive tract complications will be recorded and the data will be analyzed by SPSS 18.0 software.Discussion:This study will evaluate the effect of probiotics on gastrointestinal complications and nutritional status of postoperative patients with esophageal cancer. The results of this study will provide clinical basis for the use of probiotics in postoperative treatment of esophageal cancer.Trial registration:OSF Registration number: D DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/QHW86     

Proteases and their inhibitors as prognostic factors for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies, but only very few prognostic biomarkers are known. The degradome, comprising proteases, protease non-proteolytic homologues and inhibitors, have been involved in the prognosis of many cancer types, including ovarian carcinoma. The prognostic significance of the whole degradome family has not been specifically studied in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. A targeted DNA microarray known as the CLIP-CHIP microarray was used to identify potential prognostic factors in ten high-grade serous ovarian cancer women who had early recurrence (<1.6 years) or late/no recurrence after first line surgery and chemotherapy. In women with early recurrence, we identified seven upregulated genes (TMPRSS4, MASP1/3, SPC18, PSMB1, IGFBP2, CFI – encoding Complement Factor I – and MMP9) and one down-regulated gene (ADAM-10). Using immunohistochemistry, we evaluated the prognostic effect of these 8 candidate genes in an independent cohort of 112 high-grade serous ovarian cancer women. Outcomes were progression, defined according to CA-125 criteria, and death. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were done to estimate the associations between each protein and each outcome. High ADAM-10 expression (intensity of 2–3) was associated with a lower risk of progression (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29-0.87). High complement factor I expression (intensity 2–3) was associated with a higher risk of progression (adjusted HR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.17–4.53) and death (adjusted HR: 3.42; 95% CI: 1.72–6.79). Overall, we identified the prognostic value of two proteases, ADAM-10 and complement factor I, for high-grade serous ovarian cancer which could have clinical significance.     

临床抗青光眼药物的新进展

青光眼是致盲的主要原因之一，构成视神经的神经节细胞轴突受到多种因素的损伤，其机制尚未完全明了。青光眼最重要的危险因素是眼压升高。由于青光眼的视神经损伤尚不能直接治疗，根据目前提供的唯一已知可治疗的危险因素，可以降低升高的眼压，而眼压与房水流出通道的功能息息相关。这些方面的药物均可以影响青光眼的进展。随着医疗技术的发展以及对青光眼发病机制认识的加深，新型抗青光眼药物也应运而生，为眼科医师提供新的选择。本文将对国内外新型抗青光眼药物从机制、药理特点及临床疗效等方面进行综述。     

外泌体在卵巢癌诊疗及转移中的研究进展

卵巢癌是妇科肿瘤领域内的一个热点主题。该种恶性肿瘤疾病的发病率高且隐匿,缺乏有效的早期发现及时诊断并治疗的方式,病情容易加重发生远处转移。因此罹患卵巢癌的女性5年生存率比较低。外泌体属于一类典型的囊性泡样的小体,参与肿瘤的发病及转移机制且在肿瘤疾病的治疗中起着重要作用。本篇综述主要介绍癌细胞外泌体在卵巢恶性肿瘤疾病的诊断、转移及治疗中的研究现状。