The role of immunosuppressive agents in the management of severe and refractory immune‐related adverse events

The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors has improved survival in some types of cancer and brought promising prospects to cancer immunotherapy. Despite their clinical benefits, significant off‐target toxicities resulting from the immune system activation have been observed, namely immune‐related adverse events (irAEs), which pose to clinicians a new challenge of optimal management. With steroids being the mainstay of current management of irAEs, immunosuppressive agents are especially indicated for severe or steroid‐refractory cases, based on current immunopathophysiological knowledge and on extrapolations of treatment options for primary autoimmune disorders. This review focuses on the status and recent clinical progress of immunosuppressive agents in the management of severe and steroid‐refractory irAEs.     

肥胖型PCOS患者的生物学特征和临床特征

多囊卵巢综合征（polycystic ovary syndrome,PCOS）是一种内分泌代谢紊乱综合征,临床表现高度异质性。肥胖是PCOS异质性临床表现之一,超过50%的PCOS患者超重或肥胖。肥胖型PCOS主要表现为高雄激素血症、中心型肥胖和糖脂代谢紊乱,非肥胖型PCOS主要表现为黄体生成激素（luteinizing hormone,LH）水平异常升高。尽管肥胖型和非肥胖型PCOS均存在内分泌代谢异常,然而肥胖可加重PCOS糖脂代谢紊乱;肥胖型PCOS还表现脂肪代谢的异常。综述肥胖型PCOS患者的临床特征、性激素水平、糖脂代谢特征,旨在为肥胖型和非肥胖型PCOS患者新的分型诊治提供参考。     

Intravascular Ultrasound for Evaluation of Left Gonadal Vein Anatomic Variations During Coil Embolization

We illustrate the intravascular ultrasound (US) findings in the evaluation of left gonadal vein anatomic variations. During a 2‐year period, 4 consecutive patients (mean age, 37 years; range, 28–45 years) with left‐sided varicocele underwent embolization. Intravascular US examinations and retrograde venography were performed to assess varicocele anatomy. Anatomic variants were recorded and categorized. A comparison between intravascular US and fluoroscopic findings was performed. The Fisher exact test was used for statistical analysis (P < .05). Technical success was achieved in all cases. There was a statistically significant difference in the maximum gonadal vein diameter between venography and intravascular US (P = .0087). Intravascular US showed left gonadal vein anatomic variations and better ability in the evaluation of the vein diameter.     

Pharmacotherapy for the treatment of vaginal atrophy

Introduction: Despite its frequency, recognition and therapy of vulvovaginal atrophy (VVA) remain suboptimal. Wet mount microscopy, or vaginal pH as a proxy, allows VVA diagnosis in menopause, but also in young contraception users, after breast cancer, or postpartum. Intravaginal low dose estrogen product is the main therapy. Ultra-low-dose vaginal estriol is safe and sufficient in most cases, even in breast cancer patients, while hyaluronic acid can help women who cannot or do not want to use hormones.

Areas covered: The authors provide an overview of the current pharmaceutical treatment for vulvovaginal atrophy and provide their expert opinions on its future treatment.

Expert opinion: The basis of good treatment is a correct and complete diagnosis, using a microscope to study the maturity index of the vaginal fluid. Minimal dose of estriol intravaginally with or without lactobacilli is elegant, cheap and can safely be used after breast cancer and history of thromboembolic disease. Laser therapy requires validation and safety data, as is can potentially cause vaginal fibrosis and stenosis, and safer and cheaper alternatives are available.     

性激素在老年男性骨质疏松发病及治疗中作用的研究进展

骨质疏松（osteoporosis，OP）与年龄增长密切相关，在老年人群中患病率显著高于中青年人群，严重危害老年人群的健康。性激素在男性骨骼代谢中发挥重要作用，其中，雌激素和雄激素都能够促进骨形成，对抗骨量丢失，而孕激素则可能对男性骨量的维持起到负性调节作用。老年男性体内雌激素、雄激素的缺乏与其骨密度降低、OP患病率增加都有着密切的关系，性激素及其受体调节剂为OP的治疗提供了新的思路。雌激素是目前女性绝经后骨质疏松（postmenopausal osteoporosis，PMOP）治疗的常用药物，并不被推荐用于治疗男性OP；雄激素替代治疗可使老年男性骨密度得到增加，但在前列腺和心血管安全性上存疑，因而并不推荐常规使用；选择性雌激素受体调节剂（selective estrogen receptor modulator，SERM）能提升血清睾酮水平，有助于增加腰椎和髋关节骨密度，降低骨折风险，但尚未被正式批准用于治疗男性OP，其疗效及安全性有待更多的临床试验来验证；选择性雄激素受体调节剂（selective androgen receptor modulator，SARM）应用于OP的相关研究尚处于起步阶段，目前仅在动物模型中被证实能够增加雄性大鼠的骨骼强度。本文就性激素在老年男性OP发病及治疗中的作用进行回顾和总结，以期为临床医师的工作提供一定参考。