Patients' experiences across the trajectory of atrial fibrillation: A qualitative systematic review

AimThis study aimed to synthesize qualitative evidence on experiences of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) during the course of diagnosis and treatment. We addressed three main questions: (a) What were the experiences of patients with AF during the course of diagnosis and treatment? (b) How did they respond to and cope with the disease? (c) What were the requirements during disease management?DesignIn this study, qualitative evidence synthesis was performed using the Thomas and Harden method.Data SourcesElectronic databases, including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the China Biomedical Database, the WanFang Database, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and VIP, were searched. The databases were searched from inception to August 2021.Review MethodsTwo researchers independently selected studies using qualitative assessment and review instruments for quality evaluation and thematic synthesis for the data analysis.ResultsA total of 2627 studies were identified in the initial search and 15 studies were included. Five analytical themes were generated: ‘Diagnosing AF’; ‘The impact of AF on the patients’; ‘Self‐reorientation in the therapeutic process’; ‘Living with AF and QoL’; and ‘External support to facilitate coping strategies.’ConclusionsOur findings point out unique experiences of patients across the trajectory of AF related to delayed diagnosis, feelings of nonsupport, disappointment of repeated treatment failure and multiple distress associated with unpredictable symptoms. Future research and clinical practice are expected to improve the quality of medical diagnosis and treatment, optimize administrative strategy and provide diverse health support for patients with AF.ImpactUnderstanding the experiences and needs of patients with AF in the entire disease process will inform future clinical practice in AF integrated management, which would be helpful in improving the professionalism and confidence of healthcare providers. In addition, our findings have implications for improving the effectiveness of AF diagnostic and treatment services.Patient or Public ContributionThis paper presents a review of previous studies and did not involve patients or the public.     

Fraxinol attenuates LPS-induced acute lung injury by equilibrating ACE-Ang II-AT1R and ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas and inhibiting NLRP3

ContextAcute lung injury (ALI) is a serious heterogenous pulmonary disorder. Fraxinol was selected for this study since it is a simple coumarin compound, not previously investigated in ALI.ObjectivesThis study investigates the ALI therapeutic effect and mechanisms of fraxinol.Materials and methodsMale BALB/c mice were treated with fraxinol (20, 40, and 80 mg/kg) following intranasal injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 10 μg in 50 μL). The mice in control group were intratracheally injected with 50 μL phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Raw264.7 cells were treated with fraxinol by 100 ng/mL LPS for 6 h, then treated by different concentrations of fraxinol (5, 10, and 25 μM) for 48 h. Cells in control group were treated with PBS.ResultsFraxinol with doses of 20, 40, and 80 mg/kg significantly attenuated LPS-induced lung injury in mice (lung injury score, 10.4, 31.2, 50.3%). Fraxinol attenuated the apoptosis and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing-3 (NLRP3) activation induced by LPS (apoptosis, 18.3, 30.2, 55.6%; NLRP3, 30.0, 47.7, 63.6%). The anti-apoptosis and anti-inflammation effects of fraxinol were also confirmed in Raw264.7 cells (apoptosis, 38.8, 55.3, 68.9%; NLRP3, 20.6, 55.7, 73.9%).Discussion and conclusionThe anti-ALI effects of fraxinol maybe by equilibrating ACE-Ang II-AT1R and ACE2-Ang (1-7)-Mas axis and inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome. Our research provides a candidate drug in the treatment of ALI.     

Engineering nanomedicines for improved melanoma therapy: progress and promises

Once metastatic, melanoma remains one of the most aggressive and morbid malignancies. Moreover, in past decades, the overall survival for advanced unresectable melanoma exhibited a constancy of poor prognosis. Low response rates and serious adverse effects have been characteristic of standard therapy based on a combination of chemotherapeutic agents or immunotherapy with IL-2. For example, the chemotherapy including dacarbazine, carmustin, cisplatin and tamoxifen is known as 'Dartmouth regimen' while the CVD regimen comprises carmustine, vinblastine and dacarbazine. Thus, there is an urgent and critical need to reformulate these bioactive agents using nanoscience and nanotechnology as alternative strategies. This article overviews current design and evaluation of nanomedicine undertaken to address this unmet medical need. The nanomedicines studied include polymeric nanoparticles, liposomes, polymersomes, dendrimers, cubosomes, niosomes and nanodiamonds. In this preclinical article, nanotechnology provides hope for effective treatment of this aggressive and largely treatment-resistant disease.     

基于中医药数据库的中医药治疗肺癌临床文献分析

目的对中国中医药数据库检索系统收录的2000—2009年有关肺癌临床文献进行文献计量学分析,以期给广大医学科研工作者以参考。方法将文献的题名、作者、单位、基金、刊名、主题词等数据导入MicrosoftOfficehccess,对发表时间、来源期刊、发丈机构、基金资助情况等进行统计分析,并采用SPSS13．0软件对关键词进行聚类分析。结果采用“模糊检索”得到文献835篇。我国肺癌临床研究的高生产力地区主要集中在浙江、山东、江苏、广东、河南5地;尚未形成核心作者群,高产作者少;临床用药主要涉及黄芪、党参、人参等;联系比较紧密的学科是病理学、外科学;涉及的治疗仪器是体层摄影术、X线计算机。结论中医药在肺癌临床方面有着广泛的应用,与西医结合发挥其作用价值日趋明显。     

延胡索醋制前后小鼠眼组织中Cu、Zn、Mn含量比较研究

摘 要 目的： 研究延胡索醋制前后对眼组织中微量元素含量的影响,探讨醋制能使延胡索归肝经的真实性。方法: 将小鼠分为延胡索生品组、醋品组和阴性组分别给药,测定并比较其眼底血和眼球玻璃体中的锌、锰、铜含量。结果:延胡索能显著增加小鼠眼底血中Cu、Zn及眼球玻璃体中Zn、Mn含量,醋制延胡索效果更为明显。结论: 醋制延胡索能提高微量元素在眼组织的分布,因肝开窍于目,为延胡索醋制后归肝经提供依据。     

人类免疫缺陷病毒首犯后天阳之本

人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染人体后,主要侵犯肺、脾二经,但首犯肺经。肺为后天阳之本,脾为后天阴之本。根据肺的生理功能和HIV病毒侵袭人体的特点,肺经的临床表现出现最早,出现的几率也最大。脾为后天阴之本,当肺脏卫外功能减退或不足的时候,病邪即可深入,引起脾经病变。同时HIV病毒对肺脾的侵犯具有较大的特异性,需要结合其他各期的病机进行综合分析,完整地认识病毒的发病特性。     

肢体缺血预处理对肝硬变兔肝脏缺血再灌注损伤的实验研究

目的:探索肢体缺血预处理对肝脏缺血再灌注损伤的影响.方法:32只新西兰兔用四氯化碳颈背部皮下注射法建立肝硬变模型.将成功建模的28只肝硬变兔分为假手术组(S组)、缺血再灌注组(IR组)、肝脏缺血预处理组(IPC组)、肢体缺血预处理组(LIPC组)各7只.实验前12h禁食,自由饮水.检测模型试验前后肝脏生化酶(ALT、AST)指标及肝脏组织中ATP含量水平.结果:LIPC组ALT、AST指标与S组、IR组比较差异均有显著统计学意义(P＜0.01),与IPC组比较无统计学意义(P＞0.05);LIPC组ATP指标水平与S组、IR组比较差异均有显著统计学意义(P＜0.01),与IPC组比较无统计学意义(P＞0.05).结论:肢体缺血预处理对肝脏缺血再灌注损伤具有保护作用.     

细胞共培养技术在医药研究中的应用

细胞共培养由于能更好地模拟体内环境,便于更好的观察细胞与细胞、细胞与培养环境之间的相互作用以及探讨药物的作用机制和可能的作用靶点,填补了单层细胞培养与整体动物实验研究的鸿沟,近年来倍受医药领域的关注,成为药物研发、生物制药领域的研究热点.细胞共培养方法包括直接共培养和间接共培养,主要用于疾病病理基础、新型治疗手段以及药物活性筛选的研究.现有的细胞共培养技术主要用于单一药物的药效学研究,用于联合药物相互作用的研究甚少.中药复方之间协同配伍,减毒增效.细胞共培养技术符合中药多成分、多靶点的作用特点,这对于未来探讨中药联合用药对机体的作用及机制的研究具有一定参考价值,为中药及复方研究提供了一种新的手段.该文就细胞共培养技术的方法与运用进行了概述,并对该技术运用于中药及复方的研究进行了展望.