Analysis of the factors influencing the therapeutic effects of onychomycosis

From July 1 994to June 1 999,5 4 5 onychomyco-sis patients were treated with Itraconazole and com-pleted their treatment courses with complete follow-up in out- patientdepartment.The recovery rate was83.1 4% and 79.2 3% in fingernail and toenail dis-eases respectively.But following phenomena werefound:( 1 ) Some new nails stopped growing in cer-tain length,even if the treatment continued;( 2 )Some damaged nails reappeared soon after the treat-ment ceased;( 3) Some damaged nails with deep- co…     

Effects of diuretics on intradialytic hypotension in maintenance dialysis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is a serious complication in dialysis patients. Diuretics might reduce the incidence of IDH by decreasing ultrafiltration. However, the effect of diuretics on IDH in maintenance dialysis patients is still unclear.

Methods

We searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and clinical trials registries from 1945 to May 2019. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or observational studies about IDH in maintenance dialysis with diuretics were included.

Results

Seven studies including 28,226 patients were included, of which 4 were RCTs involving mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) and 3 were observational studies involving loop diuretics. There was a trend that a lower incidence rate of IDH in maintenance dialysis patients who used loop diuretics than control, although the result was not statistically significant (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.34–1.22, P?=?0.18). Similarly, lower incidence rate of all-cause mortality (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.87–0.99; P?=?0.02) and cardiovascular (CV) mortality (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.75–0.99, P?=?0.03) in dialysis patients who used loop diuretics than control. On the contrary, there were no significant difference in the incidence of IDH (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.78–2.34, P?=?0.29) and all-cause mortality (OR 0.73, 95% CI 0.26–2.01; P?=?0.54) and CV mortality (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.14–2.25; P?=?0.42) in maintenance dialysis patients who used MRAs compared with control.

Conclusion

Loop diuretics, but not MRAs, might have a potential benefit to reduce the incidence rate of IDH, all-cause mortality and CV mortality. More high-quality studies are needed to strengthen the arguments.

     

Systematic review and network meta-analysis assess the comparative efficacy and safety of transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary tumor

Neurosurgical Review - To quantitatively synthesize the comparative efficacy and safety of the most common surgical approaches including endonasal transsphenoidal endoscopic surgery (ETES),...     

Dark Tea: A popular beverage with possible medicinal application

Tea is a famous beverage that is produced from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Amongst the six major tea categories in China, dark tea is the only one that involves microbial fermentation in the manufacturing process, which contributes unique flavors and functions for the tea. In the recent decade, the reports about the biofunctions of dark teas have increased rapidly. Therefore it may be the proper time to consider dark tea as one potential homology of medicine and food. In this viewpoint, our current understanding of the chemical constituents, biological activities and possible health beneficial effects of dark teas were introduced. Some future directions and challenges to the development perspectives of dark teas were also discussed.     

Metastatic embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma of the breast: A case report and literature review

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a common malignancy in children, but embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (ERMS) deposits rarely occur in the breast in adults. Therefore, little is known about magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of breast metastases from RMS, especially the embryonal type. We reported a case of a 22-year-old woman who was diagnosed with ERMS at left foot 2 years ago and accepted operation and chemotherapy. She was confirmed to have breast metastases from the left foot. Successive imaging examinations were performed 3 months apart. Breast ultrasound indicated a benign lesion, and further examination did not reveal any bone metastases. However, predominant restricted diffusion and rim contrast enhancement on MRI combined with the patient's medical history suggested a malignancy of BI-RADS 5. After 3 months, breast ultrasound revealed masses detected last time became larger and lobulated. In addition, internal heterogeneous intensity and rim contrast enhancement with restricted diffusion were revealed on MRI. We speculated that typical MRI findings of breast metastases from RMS may include iso- to hypointensity on T1WI, heterogeneous hyperintensity on T2WI, and circular enhancement with restricted diffusion. Moreover, mild peritumoral edema, rapid expansion of necrosis, and ascending time-intensity curve detected on MRI may be features of the ERMS type.     

Current Progress on Antibiotic Sensing Based on Ratiometric Fluorescent Sensors

Antibiotics, which can be used as veterinary drugs, are widely used in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases for animals. However, overuse of antibiotics had caused serious problems on food contamination and human harm. For control such public issues, several of techniques have been in recent years. Ratiometric fluorescent (RF) technique, as one of the most promising strategies for quantitatively evaluated analytes, had been extensively developed for the readily measurements on the two different fluorescent emission intensities. In this review, the construction strategies for recent RF sensors will be mainly focused on. Meanwhile, the recent advances and new tendencies for detection of antibiotics based on RF technique shall be introduced. Finally, outlooks on the opportunities and challenges for quantitative fluorescence sensing on antibiotics will be summarized.