Clinical analysis of high-intensity focussed ultrasound ablation for abdominal wall endometriosis: a 4-year experience at a specialty gynecological institution

Objective: To evaluate the long-term clinical effect of high-intensity focussed ultrasound (HIFU) as a non-invasive modality for ablation of abdominal wall endometriosis (AWE) foci.

Methods: All women who were diagnosed with cutaneous endometriosis and underwent HIFU ablation and 4-year follow-up were included. Patient symptoms, imaging performed, HIFU ablation, recurrence, lesion location, size and number were collected and analyzed.

Results: A total of 51 women with 57 painful abdominal wall masses with a median volume of 4.00?cm³ and a mean age of 30.5±2.12 years were treated with HIFU. The main symptoms were a palpable painful abdominal mass (93%), protrusion of the skin (28.1%, 16) or lack of protrusion of the skin (71.9%, 41). Ultrasound was initially performed in 100% (51) of women, whereas 6% (3) required MRI examinations to distinguish the features and range of the masses. Ablation was performed with a median 300?s of sonication time, 40?min treatment time, 150?W of power and 41800?J of total energy to treat lesions that were a median volume of 3.83?cm³. No severe complications occurred, except in one patient with a first-degree skin burn, during the 48-month follow-up period. The pooled recurrence of cutaneous endometriosis occurred in 3.9% (2) of women.

Conclusion: The diagnosis of AWE should be confirmed with imaging of the lesion number, location, size and features before HIFU ablation. HIFU should be the first choice for the treatment of AWE as it is a non-invasive method, with high efficiency and safety and rapid postoperative recovery.     

Nanomedicines: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Advancing nanomedicines from concept to clinic requires integration of new science with traditional pharmaceutical development. The medical and commercial success of nanomedicines is greatly facilitated when those charged with developing nanomedicines are cognizant of the unique opportunities and technical challenges that these products present. These individuals must also be knowledgeable about the processes of clinical and product development, including regulatory considerations, to maximize the odds for successful product registration. This article outlines these topics with a goal to accelerate the combination of academic innovation with collaborative industrial scientists who understand pharmaceutical development and regulatory approval requirements—only together can they realize the full potential of nanomedicines for patients.     

Reciprocal Peer Support for Post-partum Patients with Diabetes: A Needs Assessment for the Diabetes Buddy Program

While peer support has been investigated in multiple clinical contexts, its application to the postpartum setting is unknown. The aim was to assess acceptability of a postpartum peer support program for women with diabetes. Observational survey-based needs assessment of forty low-income women with diabetes, receiving care at a major medical institution. Mean age and gravidity were 30.7 years and 3.15 ± 1.67 respectively. 45 % expressed interest in a “buddy.” There was no significant difference between groups desiring and not desiring this program. A majority of respondents desired telephone, text messaging, and in-person contacts (79.2, 72.1, 83.8 %), with 72.5 % of patients desiring diabetes-related activities during clinic waiting time. Many women desire a postpartum diabetes reciprocal peer program for support outside of clinician visits. Patients are receptive to educational services during their wait and outside of clinic time, a potentially valuable opportunity to share important health information.     

Improvements in epidermal function prevent relapse of psoriasis: a self‐controlled study

While therapeutic approaches for psoriasis are widely available, preventive regimens are lacking. We aimed to determine whether improvements in epidermal function could prevent psoriasis relapse. Two self‐controlled cohort studies were designed, enrolling two cohorts of patients with psoriasis (n = 30 and n = 60) to be treated topically with an in‐house‐prepared emollient or ATOPALM^® cream applied twice daily to one forearm for 20 and 30 days, respectively, while the same sites on the contralateral arm served as the untreated control. Epidermal function on both arms was assessed prior to and at the end of the trials. Delayed relapse on the treated arm was seen in 54.5% and 71% of patients in the first and second cohort, respectively. The time of psoriatic relapse correlated with the extent of abnormalities in baseline epidermal function. These results suggest that improvements in epidermal function with topical emollients can prevent/attenuate the development of psoriasis.     

经胫骨隧道前交叉韧带双束八股解剖重建的临床研究

目的观察关节镜下采用自体腘绳肌腱经胫骨隧道前交叉韧带（anterior cruciate ligament, ACL）双束八股解剖重建的临床效果。方法随访上海交通大学附属第六人民医院运动医学科2018年12月—2020年1月收治的103例ACL断裂患者资料，其中男78例，女25例，年龄18~45岁，平均（26.8±5.86）岁；左侧47例，右侧56例，均采用关节镜下自体腘绳肌腱经胫骨隧道打股骨骨隧道，ACL双束八股解剖重建。按照Lysholm评分、国际膝关节评分委员会（IKDC）膝关节评分、Tegner膝关节评分标准和膝关节自我效能量表K-SES评价疗效。结果所有患者术后获随访12～42个月，平均（24±8.18）个月；手术前、末次随访评分比较，Lysholm评分分别为（48.41±4.44）分和（95.34±1.91）分，2组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.001)；IKDC评分分别为（44.05±4.36）分和（95.66±1.89）分，2组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.001)；Tegner评分分别为（2.84±0.95）分和（6.15±0.89）分，2组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.001)；膝关节自我效能量表K-SES量表（3.10±0.83）分和（7.12±1.10）分，2组比较差异有统计学意义（P<0.001)。末次随访103例患者前抽屉试验阴性，轴移试验阴性。98例（95.1%）Lachman试验阴性，5例（4.9%）Lachman试验1°阳性。结论关节镜下采用自体腘绳肌腱经胫骨隧道双束八股解剖重建前交叉韧带是一种恢复膝关节稳定性，恢复伤前活动水平的有效方法。     

Assessment of toxicity using dehydrogenases activity and mathematical modeling

Dehydrogenase activity is frequently used to assess the general condition of microorganisms in soil and activated sludge. Many studies have investigated the inhibition of dehydrogenase activity by various compounds, including heavy metal ions. However, the time after which the measurements are carried out is often chosen arbitrarily. Thus, it can be difficult to estimate how the toxic effects of compounds vary during the reaction and when the maximum of the effect would be reached. Hence, the aim of this study was to create simple and useful mathematical model describing changes in dehydrogenase activity during exposure to substances that inactivate enzymes. Our model is based on the Lagergrens pseudo-first-order equation, the rate of chemical reactions, enzyme activity, and inactivation and was created to describe short-term changes in dehydrogenase activity. The main assumption of our model is that toxic substances cause irreversible inactivation of enzyme units. The model is able to predict the maximum direct toxic effect (MDTE) and the time to reach this maximum (T_MDTE). In order to validate our model, we present two examples: inactivation of dehydrogenase in microorganisms in soil and activated sludge. The model was applied successfully for cadmium and copper ions. Our results indicate that the predicted MDTE and T_MDTE are more appropriate than EC₅₀ and IC₅₀ for toxicity assessments, except for long exposure times.