Closed loop stimulation helps with weaning from chronotropic incompetence-related ventilator dependence

Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology -     

Surgical management in a severe OSA patient diagnosed with Stickler syndrome

Stickler syndrome is a genetic disorder of connective tissue. One of the major symptoms associated with this disorder is an oro-facial malformation, which may cause a submucous cleft or a complete cleft of the hard palate. A 32-year-old man diagnosed with Stickler syndrome and a submucosal cleft palate (SMCP) visited our hospital with a chief complaint of excessive daytime sleepiness. The patient was diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and administration of a polysomnography test revealed an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 30.9 events/hour (h). Auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure was initiated to control the OSA symptoms and subsequently the patient showed some improvement. However, due to continuous velopharyngeal insufficiency symptoms, intravelar veloplasty was performed. Three months after surgery, the AHI had decreased to 12.4 events/h. Recent studies have described a greater risk for OSA in individuals with cleft palate, than in the general population. The present case demonstrates surgical success in a patient with OSA and SMCP, suggesting that palatal surgery may be considered an optional surgical treatment for OSA patients with SMCP.     

Overweight and obesity as risk factors for biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy

International Journal of Clinical Oncology - Previous studies have shown a relationship between the occurrence and recurrence of prostate cancer; however, this relationship remains controversial....     

Confounded association between proton pump inhibitor use and risk of biliary tract cancer: Result from three cohorts

Recent epidemiological studies suggested that proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use was associated with an increased risk of biliary tract cancer (BTC), however, confounders were not adequately controlled. Our study aimed to evaluate PPI use and subsequent risk of BTC and its subtypes in three well-established cohorts. We conducted a pooled analysis of the subjects free of cancers in UK Biobank (n = 463 643), Nurses' Health Study (NHS, n = 80 235) and NHS II (n = 95 869). Propensity score weighted Cox models were used to estimate marginal HRs of PPIs use on BTC risk, accounting for potential confounders. We documented 284 BTC cases in UK Biobank (median follow-up: 7.6 years), and 91 cases in NHS and NHS II cohorts (median follow-up: 15.8 years). In UK biobank, PPI users had a 96% higher risk of BTC compared to nonusers in crude model (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.44-2.66), but the effect was attenuated to null after adjusting for potential confounders (HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.60-1.49). PPI use was not associated with risk of BTC in the pooled analysis of three cohorts (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.60-1.43). We also observed no associations between PPI use with risk of intrahepatic (HR 1.00, 95% CI 0.49-2.04), extrahepatic bile duct (HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.52-2.27) and gallbladder cancers (HR 0.66, 95% CI 0.26-1.66) in UK Biobank. In summary, regular use of PPIs was not associated with the risk of BTC and its subtypes.     

Immunotherapy for urothelial carcinoma: Metastatic disease and beyond

For advanced and metastatic urothelial carcinomas (UCs), platinum (preferably cisplatin)‐based chemotherapy has been the standard treatment for many years. However, many patients are ineligible for cisplatin‐based chemotherapy because of poor performance status and/or other age‐related conditions. At the other end of the spectrum, patients with localized non‐muscle–invasive bladder cancer who are unresponsive to intravesical Bacillus Calmette‐Guérin (BCG) treatment often face radical cystectomy as the only option. In recent years, the application of immunotherapy in the form of immune‐checkpoint inhibitors has provided viable alternatives in the second‐line postplatinum and first‐line cisplatin‐ineligible settings. Recent and ongoing clinical trials are also assessing the safety and efficacy of immunotherapy for neoadjuvant and adjuvant uses before/after cystectomy, for BCG‐unresponsive cases, and for combination treatments that include the newer indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase‐1 inhibitors and/or BCG. This review summarizes recent developments in immunotherapy for UCs.     

基于细胞因子的人参败毒散治疗新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)的网络药理学研究

目的从细胞因子角度,探究人参败毒散多成分、多靶点、多途径抗新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)的作用机制。方法应用中药系统药理分析平台(TCMSP)收集人参败毒散中活性化合物,结合药物靶点数据库收集细胞因子风暴相关靶点,利用Cytoscape构建"药材-化合物-疾病靶点"网络。通过String和DAVID数据库对靶点的互作网络、GO功能和KEGG通路进行分析。结果人参败毒散"药材-活性化合物-疾病靶点"网络包括10种药材,211个活性成分和151个疾病靶点。互作网络发现人参败毒散抑制细胞因子风暴治疗COVID-19的靶点可能包含STAT3、MAPK1、NFκB1、PIK3CA、MAPK3、TNF、CXCR4、VEGFA、IL-6、IL-2等。GO功能分析发现上述靶点在生物功能方面涉及趋化性、类固醇代谢过程等;在分子功能方面涉及血红素结合、铁离子结合、氧结合等;在细胞组成方面涉及细胞表面、细胞膜等。KEGG通路富集发现上述靶点参与查加斯病通路、HIF-1信号通路、肿瘤坏死因子信号通路等的调控。结论人参败毒散可能通过调节趋化性细胞因子,增加血氧饱和度,抑制STAT、MAPK、NFκB、PIK3K、IL-6等炎症相关信号通路,实现多成分-多靶点-多途径抑制细胞因子风暴形成的抗COVID-19作用。