腹膜透析病人的焦虑和抑郁水平与其病情变化的相关分析

目的:探讨腹膜透析病人情绪障碍,即焦虑症状和抑郁症状的发生情况,以及与透析相关因素的关系.方法:88例腹膜透析病人,使用Hamilton焦虑量表和Hamilton抑郁量表评估其情绪状况,同时测定其营养状况、残余肾功能和透析充分性、以及炎症水平,记录心脑血管事件发生情况等.结果:本组腹膜透析病人焦虑症状的发生率为44.3%,抑郁症状的发生率为56.8%.具有糖尿病和心脑血管病史者的Hamilton焦虑评分和抑郁评分高于无此类病史者(P<0.05).SGA评分较高的病人Hamilton焦虑评分和抑郁评分也较高;焦虑评分和抑郁评分较高的病人,其血清白蛋白水平、蛋白质摄入水平、体重指数、上臂中段肌肉面积和脂肪面积均较低(r=0.22～0.60,P<0.05或P<0.01).结论:腹膜透析病人焦虑症状和抑郁症状的发生率较高,焦虑症状和抑郁症状与心脑血管系统疾病和糖尿病相关,并可能与营养不良的发生存在一定的关系.     

Efficacy of Antiosteoporotic Medications in Patients With Rebound-Associated Fractures After Denosumab Discontinuation

Denosumab discontinuation results in rapid bone loss and increased risk of multiple rebound-associated vertebral fractures (RAVFs). The optimal treatment for patients who have sustained such fractures is currently unknown. We aimed to investigate the bone mineral density (BMD) changes achieved with various regimens in postmenopausal women who had sustained RAVFs after denosumab discontinuation in everyday clinical practice. In this multicenter, retrospective observational study, 39 Greek postmenopausal women from six regional bone centers throughout Greece with RAVFs after denosumab discontinuation were included. We collected BMD and fracture data before and 1 year after treatment with denosumab (n = 20), teriparatide (n = 8), zoledronate (n = 8) or teriparatide/denosumab combination (n = 3). Both lumbar spine (LS)-- and femoral neck (FN)-BMD were preserved with all regimens used. With the exception of zoledronate, a trend towards increase was observed with all regimens in LS-BMD. Three patients sustained additional fractures despite treatment reinstitution (2 with zoledronate and 1 with teriparatide). Among patients with RAVFs following denosumab discontinuation both antiresorptive (zoledronate and denosumab) and anabolic (teriparatide) treatment as well as the combination of denosumab with teriparatide seem to be effective in terms of BMD response.     

Cassane-type diterpenes from Caesalpinia minax induce apoptosis in pituitary adenoma: structure–activity relationship,ER stress and Wnt/β-catenin pathways

Plant-derived natural products have been the highly significant sources of novel antitumor agents. The cassane-type diterpenes of genus Caesalpinia have been reported to bear antiproliferative activities toward different types of cancer cells. In this study, we evaluated the antineoplasmic activities of 16 natural origin cassane-type diterpenes isolated from the CHCl₃ extract of the seeds of C. minax in pituitary adenomas cells and identified caesalpin G (CAG) showed the strongest cytotoxicity. Moreover, we further investigated the structure–activity relationship and molecular mechanism of these derivatives systematically. The results confirmed the unsaturated lactone-type ring, hydroxyl at C-7, and alkenyl at C-11 or C-14 functionality as critical for anticancer activity in this family of natural products. In addition, the mechanism experiments also demonstrated unfolded protein response and ER stress and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were involved in the CAG-induced apoptosis.     

Current research status of blood biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease: Diagnosis and prognosis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which mainly occurs in the elderly, is a neurodegenerative disease with a hidden onset, which leads to progressive cognitive and behavioral changes. The annually increasing prevalence rate and number of patients with AD exert great pressure on the society. No effective disease-modifying drug treatments are available; thus, there is no cure yet. The disease progression can only be delayed through early detection and drug assistance. Therefore, the importance of exploring associated biomarkers for the early diagnosis and prediction of the disease progress is highlighted. The National Institute on Aging— Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) proposed A/T/N diagnostic criteria in 2018, including Aβ42, p-tau, t-tau in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and positron emission tomography (PET). However, the invasiveness of lumbar puncture for CSF assessment and non-popularity of PET have prompted researchers to look for minimally invasive, easy to collect, and cost-effective biomarkers. Therefore, studies have largely focused on some novel molecules in the peripheral blood. This is an emerging research field, facing many obstacles and challenges while achieving some promising results.