Does Outcome/Survival of Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes Should Be Predicted by Reduced Levels of ADAMTS-13? Results From a Pilot Study

IntroductionVon Willebrand factor (vWF) cleaving protease ADAMTS-13 has a key role for maintaining normal size of vWF. A deficiency or dysfunction of vWF cleaving protease is associated with ultra large vWF multimers and thrombotic microangiopathy. Patients with cancers have reduced levels of vWF cleaving protease. In this pilot study, we have evaluated whether or not deficiencies of ADAMTS-13 were present in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Moreover, we assessed if a reduction in basal levels of ADAMTS-13 may play a role in the prognosis of MDS.Patients and MethodsWe measured and compared the levels of vWF cleaving protease ADAMTS-13 in 100 patients with MDS and 35 healthy controls. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the International Prognostic Scoring System: group I consisting of 44 patients with low-risk MDS and group II of 56 patients with high-risk MDS. Patients with high-risk and low-risk MDS presented significantly lower levels of ADAMTS-13 than controls (P < .001 and P = .0177, respectively). High-risk patients had significantly lower levels of ADAMTS-13 when compared with the low-risk group (P < .001).ResultsWe found that reduced levels of ADAMTS-13 have a relationship with overall survival (P < .001). Statistical analysis showed that ADAMTS-13 correlates with cytogenetics (P < .001) and a tendency of slight correlation with platelet count and basal levels of ADAMTS-13 (R, 0.35; P value, 0.001). Moreover, we found that levels of ADAMTS-13 have correlation with response to treatment (P < .001).ConclusionsADAMTS-13 in MDS might represent a surrogate marker of prognosis, response to therapy, or disease progression. Further studies are needed.     

骨水泥材料在增强股骨转子间骨折内固定中的应用进展

如何对股骨转子间骨折、尤其是头颈骨块进行有效固定,进而稳定并支撑骨质疏松的骨折端,已成为当今创伤骨科研究的热点之一。为了减少固定失败率,临床上除了提高内固定的设计,应用骨增强材料提高固定的效果是另一个富有前景的研究领域。因此,本文围绕骨水泥增强材料的研究历史、材料特点、目前其生物力学和临床应用研究等方面进行综述,以提高对骨生物增强材料进行内固定的原理、手术技术和应用范围的认识,进而为其临床应用的选择提供帮助。     

Looking for opportunities to co-enroll: The DISCOVERY study experience

BackgroundConducting high-quality stroke trials is complex and costly. Often these trials compete for the attention of researchers and the availability of patients. Enrolling patients in more than one study concurrently has the potential to accelerate recruitment into individual studies. DISCOVERY is a multicenter, inception cohort study of cognitive impairment and dementia following ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke. At the request of site investigators, a DISCOVERY committee reviews individual studies for approval of possible concurrent co-enrollment into DISCOVERY. The purpose of this report is to summarize the characteristics and outcomes of studies reviewed by committee for possible co-enrollment.MethodsThis analysis covers studies reviewed from 07/01/2020 to 04/26/2022 by the Site Management Committee (SMC) of the DISCOVERY Recruitment and Retention Core. Characterization of each study included study type, number and length of follow-up visits, and whether there were protocol-required blood draws, brain imaging studies, or cognitive tests. Studies were scored for patient burden and scientific overlap with Discovery. The primary outcome was SMC approval to co-enroll.Results59 studies were reviewed, and 69.5% (n = 41, 21 clinical trials; 20 observational studies) were found by the SMC to be appropriate for co-enrollment. Higher patient burden and greater scientific overlap with DISCOVERY reduced the rates of approval for co-enrollment.ConclusionA large number of diverse stroke studies are being run concurrently across the DISCOVERY study network, however, about two-thirds of the studies were considered appropriate for consideration of co-enrollment. Future studies should study how co-enrollment might improve trial network efficiency.     

Abnormalities of resting-state EEG in patients with prodromal and overt dementia with Lewy bodies: Relation to clinical symptoms

ObjectiveHere we tested if cortical sources of resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms may differ in sub-groups of patients with prodromal and overt dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) as a function of relevant clinical symptoms.MethodsWe extracted clinical, demographic and rsEEG datasets in matched DLB patients (N = 60) and control Alzheimer’s disease (AD, N = 60) and healthy elderly (Nold, N = 60) seniors from our international database. The eLORETA freeware was used to estimate cortical rsEEG sources.ResultsAs compared to the Nold group, the DLB and AD groups generally exhibited greater spatially distributed delta source activities (DLB > AD) and lower alpha source activities posteriorly (AD > DLB). As compared to the DLB “controls”, the DLB patients with (1) rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorders showed lower central alpha source activities (p < 0.005); (2) greater cognitive deficits exhibited higher parietal and central theta source activities as well as higher central, parietal, and occipital alpha source activities (p < 0.01); (3) visual hallucinations pointed to greater parietal delta source activities (p < 0.005).ConclusionsRelevant clinical features were associated with abnormalities in spatial and frequency features of rsEEG source activities in DLB patients.SignificanceThose features may be used as neurophysiological surrogate endpoints of clinical symptoms in DLB patients in future cross-validation prospective studies.     

双眼外直肌后徙术与常规疗法治疗斜视临床疗效比较

目的:比较双眼外直肌后徙术与常规疗法治疗斜视的临床疗效。方法:选取2016年6月-2017年6月笔者医院收治的128例斜视患者,按治疗方式不同分成对照组和研究组,每组各64例。其中对照组患者行常规单眼外直肌后徙联合内直肌缩短术(R&R),研究组患者行双眼外直肌后徙术(BLR-rec)。术后对患者随访1年,观察术后眼位正位率、欠矫率、过矫率,视觉功能恢复情况以及并发症发生率。结果:研究组患者正位率为89.06%高于对照组的68.75%,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。术前,对照组和研究组患者视近度、视远度和平均斜视度比较,两组患者融合功能和立体视功能占比比较,差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。术后,两组患者的斜视度较治疗前均出现了明显下降(P<0.05),且研究组治疗后斜视度下降幅度明显大于对照组(P<0.05);两组患者视觉功能恢复率均明显增加(P<0.05),且研究组恢复率明显大于对照组(P<0.05)。研究组并发症发生率明显低于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:双眼外直肌后徙术较单眼外直肌后徙联合内直肌缩短术有更好地临床效果,且安全性更高,值得临床推广。     

立体定向穿刺引流术治疗基底节区脑出血的价值探究

目的探究立体定向穿刺引流术治疗基底节区脑出血的临床应用价值。 方法回顾性分析长江大学附属荆州市第一人民医院颅脑外科自2019年6月至2020年6月治疗的66例基底节区脑出血患者的临床资料，根据手术方式的不同分为2组，其中行传统开颅手术治疗的33例患者为对照组，采用立体定向穿刺引流术治疗的33例患者为引流组，观察并比较2组患者围术期指标、疗效、血清水通道蛋白4（AQP4）、血小板反应蛋白（TSP）1和TSP2水平、脑水肿体积。 结果引流组手术时间及住院时间均短于对照组，术中失血量低于对照组，血肿清除率高于对照组，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；引流组术后疗效较对照组好，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）；引流组患者血清AQP4、TSP1、TSP2水平较对照组低，脑水肿体积较对照组小，差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。 结论立体定向穿刺引流术治疗可改善基底节区脑出血患者围术期指标、增强疗效、降低血清AQP4水平、减少脑水肿体积。