Reappraisal of the characteristics of glucose abnormalities in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection

OBJECTIVES: There is growing evidence suggesting the mutual link between type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, the impact of HCV infection on the suite of glucose abnormalities has rarely been investigated. The study aimed to determine the difference regarding the prevalence and the characteristics of glucose abnormalities between chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients and community-based controls. It also aimed to investigate the related clinical, virological, and histological features of glucose abnormalities in HCV infection.
METHODS: Six hundred eighty-three CHC patients and 515 sex-/age-matched controls were included. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in 522 CHC patients and 447 controls without known T2DM. Clinical data were assessed upon the different stages of glucose abnormalities based on OGTT results.
RESULTS: The prevalence of normoglycemia, IGT, and T2DM in 683 CHC patients was 27.7%, 34.6%, and 37.8%, respectively. There was a significant linear trend from normoglycemia to T2DM in terms of age, family history of T2DM, and advanced liver fibrosis in CHC patients. For those CHC patients without fibrosis, the prevalence of glucose abnormalities reached 67.9% high. All CHC patients carried a significantly higher prevalence than controls regarding those aged <65 yr. For those without known DM, there was a 3.5-fold increase in the prevalence of glucose abnormalities in CHC (65.8%) patients in comparison with controls (35.3%) (OR 3.51, 95% CI 2.70–4.56, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: CHC patients carried a high prevalence of glucose abnormalities. Determination of glucose abnormalities by OGTT may be suggested.     

普米克令舒联合硫酸镁治疗新生儿胎粪吸入综合征的临床研究

目的 探讨普米克令舒联合硫酸镁治疗新生儿胎粪吸入综合征的临床效果.方法 纳入广东省茂名市人民医院2010年4月～2014年4月收治的新生儿胎粪吸入综合征患儿123例.将其分为观察组(n=43)、硫酸镁组(n=40)、普米克令舒组(n=40).观察组采用普米克令舒联合硫酸镁治疗,硫酸镁组给予硫酸镁治疗,普米克令舒组给予普米克令舒治疗.对比分析三组患儿治疗前后动脉血气指标水平、肺动脉收缩压(PASP)、氧暴露时间、住院时间及疗效.结果 观察组治疗后12、24 hpH与同期硫酸镁组和普米克令舒组比较差异无统计学意义(P＞0.05),血氧分压明显高于硫酸镁组和普米克令舒组,动脉血二氧化碳分压明显低于硫酸镁组和普米克令舒组,差异均有统计学意义(P＜0.05);观察组治疗后12、24 h PASP水平明显低于硫酸镁组和普米克令舒组,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05);观察组氧暴露时间[(5.49±0.85)d]和住院时间[(12.95±2.31)d]均显著短于硫酸镁组[(7.93±1.12)、(16.41±2.57)d]及普米克令舒组[(7.78±1.05)、(16.23±2.41)d],差异有统计学意义(P＜ 0.05);观察组总有效率(86.05％)显著高于硫酸镁组(65.00％)和普米克令舒组(62.50％),差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).结论 普米克令舒联合硫酸镁治疗新生儿胎粪吸入综合征临床效果显著,具有重要的临床研究价值.     

关节镜下内减压术治疗膝关节半月板囊肿的应用

目的：分析探讨关节镜下减压术治疗膝关节半月板囊肿的临床效果。方法选取该院2012年12月—2013年12月收治的膝关节半月板囊肿患者72例,采用膝关节镜下内减压术及半月板部分或全部切除或缝合治疗,术后指导患者进行膝关节功能锻炼。对所有患者进行随访,术前术后均进行膝关节Lysholm 功能评分,对比观察疗效。结果术前Lysholm 功能评分为（58.6±9.2）分,明显高于术后评分（93.3±4.6）分,术前术后评分对比t=18.167,P<0.05,差异有统计学意义。结论关节镜下减压术及切除或缝合半月板治疗膝关节半月板囊肿具有非常好的疗效,创伤较小,术后患者的膝关节功能恢复情况良好,可以显著提高患者的生活质量,对膝关节稳定性及生理功能干扰较小,值得临床大力推广。     

The Mood Stabilizer Lithium Potentiates the Antidepressant-Like Effects and Ameliorates Oxidative Stress Induced by Acute Ketamine in a Mouse Model of Stress

Background:

Evidence suggests that mammalian target of rapamycin activation mediates ketamine’s rapid but transient antidepressant effects and that glycogen synthase kinase-3β inhibits this pathway. However, ketamine has associated psychotomimetic effects and a high risk of abuse. The mood stabilizer lithium is a glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibitor with strong antisuicidal properties. Here, we used a mouse stress model to investigate whether adjunct lithium treatment would potentiate ketamine’s antidepressant-like effects.

Methods:

Mice received chronic restraint stress and long-term pre- or postketamine lithium treatment in drinking water. The effects of lithium on ketamine-induced antidepressant-like effects, activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin/brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathways, oxidative stress, and dendritic spine density in the brain of mice were investigated.

Results:

Subtherapeutic (600mg/L) lithium-pretreated mice exhibited an antidepressant-like response to an ineffective ketamine (2.5mg/kg, intraperitoneally) challenge in the forced swim test. Both the antidepressant-like effects and restoration of dendritic spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex of stressed mice induced by a single ketamine (50mg/kg) injection were sustained by postketamine treatment with 1200mg/L of lithium for at least 2 weeks. These benefits of lithium treatments were associated with activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin/brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling pathways in the prefrontal cortex. Acute ketamine (50mg/kg) injection also significantly increased lipid peroxidation, catalase activity, and oxidized glutathione levels in stressed mice. Notably, these oxidative stress markers were completely abolished by pretreatment with 1200mg/L of lithium.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest a novel therapeutic strategy and justify the use of lithium in patients who benefit from ketamine.     

Early prediction of response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy using contrast-enhanced ultrasound in breast cancer

Early prediction of non-response is essential in order to avoid inefficient treatments. The objective of this study was to determine the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for early predicting pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in breast cancer patients.Between March 2018 and October 2019, 93 consecutive patients with histologically proven breast cancer scheduled for NAC were enrolled. Conventional ultrasound and CEUS imaging were performed before NAC and after two cycles of NAC. CEUS parameters were compared with pathologic response. Multiple logistic regression analyses were utilized to explore CEUS parameters to predict pCR, and receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to evaluate the predictive ability.Therapeutic response was obtained from 25 (27%) patients with pCR and 68 (73%) with non-pCR. Compared to non-pCR, pCR cases have a significantly higher proportion of homogeneous enhancement feature (56% vs 14%, P < .001) and centripetal enhancement (52% vs 23%, P = .012). A significant decrease in peak intensity (PI) was observed after two cycles of NAC. Compared with non-pCR patients, the kinetic parameters PI change (PI%) was higher in pCR patients (P < .001). Multiple logistic regression demonstrated two independent predictors of pCR: internal homogeneity (odds ratio, 4.85; 95% confidence interval: 1.20–19.65; P = .027) and PI% (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval: 1.02–1.15; P = .007). In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, internal homogeneity and PI%, with area under curve of 0.71 and 0.84, predicted pCR with sensitivity (56%, 95%) and specificity (85%, 70%), respectively.Internal homogeneity and PI% of CEUS may be useful in the noninvasive early prediction of pCR in patients with breast cancer.     

Treatment of retroperitoneal echinococcosis: the experience of a single center

Retroperitoneal echinococcosis (RE) is a rare condition that is associated with a high mortality and disability rate. It is associated with a high rate of misdiagnosis, a high risk of surgery, and is extremely difficult to manage. There is no uniform standard for determining the exact form of surgical method and the timing of surgery.This was a retrospective analysis of the characteristics and surgical management of patients diagnosed with RE in our hospital between 2012 and 2019.Between 2012 and 2019, 1257 cases of echinococcosis and 121 cases of RE were diagnosed in our hospital. Of these, 68 cases involved surgical treatment, 53 involved non-surgical treatment, and 12 cases were lost to follow-up (4 cases in the surgical group and 8 cases in the non-surgical group). Thus, 109 cases were followed-up. RE cases were divided according to different treatment methods into a radical resection group (Group A, 31 cases), a non-radical resection group (Group B, 37 cases), and a non-surgical group (Group C, 53 cases). We carried out a detailed analysis of the 109 cases experiencing surgical intervention with effective follow-up.Our analysis found that radical resection is the first line of treatment of RE, although non-radical surgery can benefit most patients. It is important to emphasize the importance of the first round of surgery, particularly in cases involving hepatic echinococcosis. If the lesion can be removed radically during the first round of surgery, then radical surgery should be performed.     

Enhancement of chemotactic factor-stimulated neutrophil oxidative metabolism by leukotriene B4

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a potent primary stimulator of neutrophil chemotaxis, aggregation, and degranulation and induces superoxide production at higher concentrations. In order to determine whether LTB4 modulates neutrophil responses to oxidative stimuli, human neutrophils (PMNs) were incubated with LTB4 prior to stimulation with f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP, 10(-7) mol/L), opsonized zymosan (OZ, 250 micrograms/mL), or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 32 nmol/L). Superoxide (O2-) production by stimulated PMNs was assessed by the superoxide dismutase-inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c. LTB4 alone did not stimulate O2- production in concentrations below 10(-7) mol/L and had no effect on the O2- assay. In the concentration range of 10(-12) to 10(-8) mol/L, LTB4 did not alter O2- release induced by OZ or PMA. In contrast, LTB4-treated cells demonstrated enhanced O2- production following exposure to fMLP, and in the presence of 10 nmol/LLTB4, generated 180% +/- 41% of O-2 quantities produced by control cells (n = 23). Enhancement was LTB4 dose-dependent, was maximal in the range of 1 to 10 nmol/L LTB4, was not reversed by removal of the lipid from the medium prior to fMLP stimulation, and was not dependent on the presence of Ca++ or Mg++ in the suspending medium. Chemiluminescence of fMLP-stimulated neutrophils was increased to 323% of controls in neutrophils preincubated with 10 nmol/L LTB4. Unlike augmentation of oxidative responses to fMLP seen with other degranulating stimuli, enhancement by LTB4 was not correlated with an increase in 3H-fMLP receptor binding. These results indicate that, in addition to its primary effects on neutrophil function, LTB4 modulates PMN oxidative responses to the chemotactic peptide and, thus, may amplify the release of oxygen metabolites at inflammatory foci.