Molecular profiling of ctDNA in pancreatic cancer: Opportunities and challenges for clinical application

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is predicted to become the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality within the next decade, with limited effective treatment options and a dismal long-term prognosis for patients. Genomic profiling has not yet manifested clinical benefits for diagnosis, treatment or prognosis in PDAC, due to the lack of available tissues for sequencing and the confounding effects of low tumour cellularity in many biopsy specimens. Increasing focus is now turning to the use of minimally invasive liquid biopsies to enhance the characterisation of actionable PDAC tumour genomes. Circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) is the most comprehensively studied liquid biopsy analyte in blood and can provide insight into the molecular profile and biological characteristics of individual PDAC tumours, in real-time and in advance of traditional imaging modalities. This can pave the way for identification of new therapeutic targets, novel risk variants and markers of tumour response, to supplement diagnostic screening and provide enhanced scrutiny in treatment stratification. In the roadmap towards the application of precision medicine for clinical management in PDAC, ctDNA analyses may serve a leading role in streamlining candidate biomarkers for clinical integration. In this review, we highlight recent developments in the use of ctDNA-based liquid biopsies for PDAC and provide new insights into the technical, analytical and biological challenges that must be overcome for this potential to be realised.     

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and neck of femur fractures: Standardising the perioperative management and time to surgery

Demographic projections for hip fragility fractures indicate a rising annual incidence by virtue of a multimorbid, ageing population with more noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). NCDs are characterised by slow progression and long duration ranging from ischaemic cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to various cancers. Management of this disease burden often involves commencing patients on oral anticoagulants to reduce the risk of thromboembolic events. The use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in clinical practice has increased due to their rapid onset of action, short half-life and predictable anticoagulant effects, without the need for routine monitoring. Safe and timely surgical intervention relies on reversal of anticoagulants. However, the lack of specific evidence-based guidelines for the perioperative management of patients on DOACs with hip fractures has proved challenging; in particular, the accessibility of DOAC-specific assays, justification of the cost-benefit ratio of targeted reversal agents and indications for neuraxial anaesthesia. This has led to potentially avoidable delays in surgical intervention. Following a literature review of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics of commonly used DOACs in our region including the role of surrogate markers, we propose a systematic, evidence-based guideline to the perioperative management of hip fractures DOACs. We believe this standardised protocol can be easily replicated between hospitals. We recommend that if patients are deemed suitable for a general anaesthesia, with satisfactory renal function, optimal surgical time should be 24 h following the last ingested dose of DOAC.     

出凝血异常普通外科病人围手术期静脉血栓栓塞症防治策略

易栓症是外科围手术期静脉血栓栓塞症(VTE)的防治重点。对于接受手术的止凝血障碍病人,需要谨慎评估VTE的个体风险,同时兼顾手术和麻醉的性质、出血障碍类型和严重程度、年龄、体重指数(BMI)、血栓形成史、恶性肿瘤和其他高危共患病。VTE风险应与已知出血障碍病人使用抗凝相关的出血风险平衡。实验室检查有助于发现和判断血栓与出血的病因,对病人的止凝血代偿能力作出评估,并对抗凝药物的合理使用提供依据。对上述病人,建议术后不常规使用药物预防血栓,尤其是血友病病人,但围手术期因子替代和止血药物的过度应用仍存在导致血栓的风险。使用低分子肝素(LMWH)和直接口服抗凝剂前应评估肾小球滤过率。当血小板计数<50×109/L,LMWH短期减量应用可能相对安全,监测抗Хa水平可用于调整中重度血小板减少症病人LMWH的剂量。主要消化道出血停止和重新使用华法林应至少相隔7 d。对于高血栓栓塞风险和术后高出血风险病人,术后当晚和术后第1天减量应用直接口服抗凝剂是一种可取的做法。     

Outcomes After Aortic Valve Replacement for Asymptomatic Severe Aortic Regurgitation and Normal Ejection Fraction

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Maximizing intelligence obtained from higher-order DNA mixtures from volume crime samples

ABSTRACT

This work collates data from the analysis of complex mixtures analysed in STRmix during routine no-suspect volume crime work. It interrogates the upload rate for these types of mixtures and which component of the profile has been able to be interpreted for upload. The number of profiles giving multiple uploads and the amount of replicate PCR analysis has been collated.     

TLR9在不同胎龄新生儿脐血中的表达变化

目的 通过观察早产儿不同胎龄Toll样受体9（TLR9）的表达，探讨早产儿免疫功能低下的机制。方法 采集2010年7月至2014年6月在上海市嘉定区妇幼保健院产科出生的活产新生儿的脐血229份，按胎龄分为4组，28~31周组，31~34周组，34~37周组，≥37周组，采用流式细胞术和实时荧光定量PCR方法，分别检测其TLR9的蛋白和mRNA表达情况，了解其与胎龄之间的关系，并分析mRNA和蛋白表达间的相关性。结果 TLR9阳性细胞率在28~31周组，31~34周组，34~37周组，≥37周组分别为（15.93±6.23）%，（11.63±6.70）%，（13.66±6.88）%，（20.51±12.06）%；其在胎龄28~31周较高，至31~34周逐渐下降至最低，两组差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；34~37周后TLR9阳性细胞率表达逐渐升高，至≥37周达最高，两胎龄组比较，差异具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。31~37周间新生儿脐血TLR9阳性细胞率与胎龄呈正相关（r=0.273，P=0.006）。TLR9 mRNA表达在28~31周组，31~34周组，34~37周组，≥37周组分别为（4.95±3.44）%，（8.89±8.49）%，（13.91±10.92）%，（7.19±7.11）%；其在28~36周逐渐升高，与胎龄呈正相关（r=0.355，P< 0.001）。≥37周TLR9 mRNA表达量下降，该值虽高于28~31周，但差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。相关性分析表明，同胎龄时期同样本新生儿的TLR9 mRNA和TLR9阳性细胞率之间存在负相关（r=-0.227，P=0.011）。结论 TLR9阳性细胞率和TLR9 mRNA表达在不同胎龄组新生儿间有差异，TLR9阳性细胞率表达在31~37周间随着胎龄的增加而增加，TLR9 mRNA在28~36周间随着胎龄的增加而增加。     

国医大师禤国维应用酸敛法治疗小儿特应性皮炎经验

介绍禤国维教授应用酸敛法治疗小儿特应性皮炎的临床经验。认为表虚兼有表燥是本病的基本病机特点,酸敛法可调理肺气、收敛心神、收敛肝气;治疗上注重散收并用,乌梅、五味子、白芍为其最常用的酸敛药,可调理肺、心、肝三脏的功能,并通过与辛散类药物(紫苏叶、防风、蝉蜕等)的配合,达到敛阴而不留邪、祛邪而不伤正的效果。并附验案1则。     

益气活血通络汤治疗原发性高血压合并糖耐量减低临床研究

目的:观察中药益气活血通络汤治疗高血压合并糖耐量减低的临床疗效。方法:将64例高血压合并糖尿病患者,随机分为2组各32例,对照组口服硝苯地平片治疗;观察组加用中药益气活血通络汤,以治疗前后收缩压(SBP)、舒张压(DBP)、三酰甘油(TG)、总胆固醇(TC)、高密度脂蛋白胆固醇(HDL-C)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)、血糖、胰岛素、胰岛素敏感性指数(ISI)、胰岛素抵抗指数(HOMA-IR)为观察指标。结果:治疗3个月后,观察组疗效优于对照组(Z=-1.998,P<0.05)。与治疗前比较,2组经治疗后SBP、DBP、TC、TG、LDL-C均下降,HDL-C上升,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);观察组治疗后SBP、DBP、TC、TG、LDL-C、HDL-C与对照组治疗后比较,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。与治疗前比较,2组经治疗后空腹和餐后2 h血糖、胰岛素、HOMA-IR均下降,ISI上升,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);且经治疗后,观察组上述所有指标改善情况均优于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。2组患者在3个月的治疗期间中均未出现严重不良反应。结论:中药益气活血通络汤治疗高血压合并糖耐量降低疗效较好且安全性高,能显著降低血压,改善血脂。