Clinical characteristics of pediatric patients with COVID-19 between Omicron era vs. pre-Omicron era

IntroductionDetailed data on clinical characteristics in children with the omicron strain of SARS-COV-2 are limited.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective observational study of children with COVID-19 at the National Center for Child Health and Development to evaluate the clinical manifestations during and before the emergence of the omicron variant. Only symptomatic patients without underlying diseases were included. Participants were divided into two temporal groups: the “omicron era” (1/2022–2/2022) and the “pre-omicron era,” where the delta variant predominated (7/2021–11/2021). The patients were subclassified into an older vaccine-eligible group (aged 12–17 years), a younger vaccine-eligible group (aged 5–11 years), and a vaccine-ineligible group (aged 0–4 years).ResultsWe compared 113 patients in the omicron era with 106 in the pre-omicron era. Most patients in both eras had non-severe disease, and no patients required mechanical ventilation or died. Among patients aged 0–4 years, sore throat and hoarseness were more common during the omicron era than the pre-omicron era (11.1% vs. 0.0% and 11.1% vs. 1.5%, respectively). Croup syndrome was diagnosed in all patients with hoarseness. Among patients aged 5–11 years, vomiting was more frequent during the omicron era (47.2%) than during the pre-omicron era (21.7%). Cough and rhinorrhea were less common during the omicron era in patients aged 0–4 and 5–11 years, respectively, than during the pre-omicron era.ConclusionsIn children with COVID-19, clinical manifestations differed between the omicron and pre-omicron eras. In the Omicron era, croup syndrome was more frequent in vaccine-ineligible children.     

Novel pathogenic variants in an Indian cohort with epidermolysis bullosa: Expanding the genotypic spectrum

BackgroundEpidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a genodermatosis characterized by skin fragility and blisters with variable severity. Patients with Dystrophic EB (DEB) or Junctional EB (JEB) mainly present to clinic due to greater functional impairment. Pathogenic sequence variations in COL7A1 are implicated in DEB.ObjectiveWe have tried to decipher the molecular spectrum and genotype phenotype correlation of 21 Indian patients with EB.MethodsNext generation sequencing (NGS) was performed to determine the pathogenic variants. Sanger sequencing was also done for validation of the variants in eleven individuals.ResultsPathogenic variants were detected in 20 individuals (diagnostic yield of 95%). Majority of them (90%) had sequence variation in COL7A1 while two had pathogenic variants in ITGB4 and KRT14 respectively. Out of the 18 patients confirmed to have DEB, 3 had Dominant DEB (DDEB) whereas 15 patients had Recessive DEB (RDEB). Amongst 23 sequence variations identified, 12 were found to be novel (3 were missense, 5 were premature termination codon variants while 4 were splice-site changes).ConclusionGenotype phenotype correlation was noted with milder manifestations in those with dominant inheritance types. Exact molecular diagnosis can be ascertained by NGS in majority of cases.     

Antigenic cartography using sera from sequence-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern infections reveals antigenic divergence of Omicron

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The magnitude and timing of recalled immunity after breakthrough infection is shaped by SARS-CoV-2 variants

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疏风宣肺止嗽汤对咳嗽变异性哮喘患儿肺功能及睡眠质量的影响

目的:观察疏风宣肺止嗽汤对咳嗽变异性哮喘患儿肺功能及睡眠质量的影响。方法:将70例咳嗽变异性哮喘患儿按照随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组,每组各35例。对照组给予常规西医治疗,观察组在对照组的基础上加用自拟疏风宣肺止嗽汤治疗。比较两组患儿的临床疗效、症状消失时间、住院时间、不良反应发生率、复发率及治疗前后中医证候积分、匹兹堡睡眠质量指数(pittsburgh sleep quality index,PSQI)、肺功能指标变化情况。结果:观察组有效率为94.29%,对照组有效率为77.14%,两组患儿有效率比较,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组复发率低于对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。两组患儿治疗后中医证候评分及PSQI评分低于本组治疗前,且观察组治疗后低于对照组治疗后,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。两组患儿治疗后肺功能指标高于本组治疗前,且观察组治疗后高于对照组治疗后,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组患儿症状消失时间及住院时间短于对照组,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论:自拟疏风宣肺止嗽汤治疗咳嗽变异性哮喘,能够改善患儿的临床症状、肺功能及睡眠质量。     

Next-generation sequencing through multigene panel testing for the diagnosis of hereditary epidermolysis bullosa in Chinese population

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a heritable blistering disorder. We performed a next-generation sequencing-based multigene panel test and successfully predicted 100% of the EB types, including, 36 EB simplex (EBS), 13 junctional EB (JEB), 86 dystrophic EB (DEB), and 3 Kindler EB. Chinese JEB and recessive DEB (RDEB) patients have relatively mild phenotypes; for severe type separately accounts for 45.5% and 23.8%, respectively. We identified 96 novel and 49 recurrent pathogenic variants in 11 genes, although we failed to detect the second mutation in one JEB and five RDEB patients. We identified one novel p.E475K mosaic mutation in the clinically normal mother of one out of 13 EBS patients with KRT5 mutations, one recurrent p.G2034R mosaic mutation, and one novel p.G2043R mosaic mutation in the clinically normal relatives of two out of 19 dominant DEB patients. This study shows that next-generation technology could be an effective tool in diagnosing EB.     

Reflection of neuroblastoma intratumor heterogeneity in the new OHC-NB1 disease model

Accurate modeling of intratumor heterogeneity presents a bottleneck against drug testing. Flexibility in a preclinical platform is also desirable to support assessment of different endpoints. We established the model system, OHC-NB1, from a bone marrow metastasis from a patient diagnosed with MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma and performed whole-exome sequencing on the source metastasis and the different models and passages during model development (monolayer cell line, 3D spheroid culture and subcutaneous xenograft tumors propagated in mice). OHC-NB1 harbors a MYCN amplification in double minutes, 1p deletion, 17q gain and diploid karyotype, which persisted in all models. A total of 80–540 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) was detected in each sample, and comparisons between the source metastasis and models identified 34 of 80 somatic SNVs to be propagated in the models. Clonal reconstruction using the combined copy number and SNV data revealed marked clonal heterogeneity in the originating metastasis, with four clones being reflected in the model systems. The set of OHC-NB1 models represents 43% of somatic SNVs and 23% of the cellularity in the originating metastasis with varying clonal compositions, indicating that heterogeneity is partially preserved in our model system.     

等电聚焦电泳分析红细胞Gd(-)壮族富宁型〔Gd(-)Zhuang-Funing〕

本文采用聚丙烯酰胺凝胶等电聚焦电泳(IEF),借助园盘电泳仪的简易装置,对正常 B 型G6PD 及变异型 G6PD 进行分析,获得了满意效果。     

Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid with exuberant nodular fasciitis-like stroma

 We describe a rare case of papillary carcinoma with extensive proliferation of stromal cells. The stromal cells were immunocytochemically positive for vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin and desmin, but negative for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, S-100, thyroglobulin and CD34. These results and the ultrastructure of the stromal cells, which exhibited the characteristics of both fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells, indicated an origin from myofibroblasts. We conclude that myofibroblastic proliferation may contribute to the stromal response in the slow growth of the papillary carcinoma. Received: 29 August 1996 / 26 May 1997