Berberine plays a cardioprotective role by inhibiting macrophage Wnt5a/β-catenin pathway in the myocardium of mice after myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the diseases with high fatality rate. Berberine (BBR) is a monomer compound with various biological functions. And some studies have confirmed that BBR plays an important role in alleviating cardiomyocyte injury after MI. However, the specific mechanism is unclear. In this study, we induced a model of MI by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and we surprisingly found that BBR significantly improved ventricular remodeling, with a minor inflammatory and oxidative stress injury, and stronger angiogenesis. Moreover, BBR inhibited the secretion of Wnt5a/β-catenin pathway in macrophages after MI, thus promoting the differentiation of macrophages into M2 type. In summary, BBR effectively improved cardiac function of mice after MI, and the potential protective mechanism was associated with the regulation of inflammatory responses and the inhibition of macrophage Wnt5a/β-catenin pathway in the infarcted heart tissues. Importantly, these findings supported BBR as an effective cardioprotective drug after MI.     

后路经椎间隙截骨的临床分型及应用

【摘要】 目的：介绍脊柱后路经椎间隙截骨术（trans-intervertebral space osteotomy,TIO）的技术理念、临床分型和应用策略。方法：根据TIO技术特点、手术操作过程中截骨切除范围所涉及的解剖结构,将其分为3大类型及2种扩大（+）型：围绕椎间盘及关节突关节为Ⅰ型,扩大至楔形切除椎间隙一侧终板为Ⅱ型（头尾双侧终板则为Ⅱ+型）。扩大至楔形切除椎间隙一侧椎弓根为Ⅲ型（双侧椎弓根则为Ⅲ+型）;收集2003年1月~2012年12月接受后路经椎间隙截骨术治疗的30例胸腰椎侧后凸畸形患者的临床资料,其中男12例,女18例,年龄29~69岁（51.4±10.4岁）。由5位脊柱外科医师先后对患者的临床资料进行独立评估与分型（间隔2周）,进行Kappa一致性检验以分析其可信度及可重复性。结果：30例患者中行Ⅰ型TIO 15例,Ⅱ型TIO 6例,Ⅱ+型TIO 3例,Ⅲ型TIO 4例,Ⅲ+型TIO 2例。观察者间一致性的Kappa系数0.806~0.953;观察者内一致性的Kappa系数为0.837~0.953,可信度及可重复性满意。结论：经椎间隙截骨临床分型实用可靠,可作为理论基础用于比较不同研究中经椎间隙截骨技术的手术效果,有利于指导脊柱侧后凸畸形的截骨矫形治疗。     

Clinicopathological characteristics,prognosis, and chemosensitivity in patients with metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma

PurposeTo investigate the clinical characteristics, chemosensitivity, and outcome of metastatic upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC).Patients and MethodsRecords of patients with metastatic UTUC since January 2005 were retrieved from a database that included clinical and survival data. Statistical analyses including survival and multivariate analyses of factors were respectively performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazard model.ResultsA total of 250 consecutive UTUC cases were evaluated. There were 56 patients (22.4%) with initially diagnosed stage IV disease. The most common metastatic sites were lung (39.6%), distant lymph nodes (39.2%), bone (19.6%), liver (18.0%), and adrenal gland (7.2%), respectively, and the local recurrence rate was 10.4%. Two hundred thirteen patients received first-line chemotherapy. The overall response rate was only 28.7% and the median progression-free survival time was only 5.0 months. The overall survival time of the cohort was 18.0 months. Multivariate analyses showed that initially diagnosed stage IV disease, number of metastatic organs ≥3, no response to chemotherapy and cycles of chemotherapy ≤2 were adverse prognosticators for overall survival.ConclusionUTUC presented to be more prone to metastasize than locally recur and thought to have low chemosensitivity. Stage IV disease at initial diagnosis, number of metastatic organs, response and cycles of chemotherapy were independent prognosticators for metastatic UTUC.     

Effects of bariatric surgery on patients with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome: a meta-analysis

BackgroundBariatric surgery is effective for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), while the exact mechanism remains unclear.ObjectivesTo assess the impact of bariatric surgery on PCOS patients and further explore the possible mechanism.SettingA meta-analysis.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, and Embase to identify relevant studies published before November 2020.ResultsTwenty-one studies met our inclusion criteria, and we identified 552 patients with PCOS study. Results showed that the prevalence of preoperative PCOS, menstrual irregularity, hirsutism, type 2 diabetes (T2D), hypertension, infertility, and depression significantly decreased after bariatric surgery. Levels of total testosterone, fasting insulin, and luteinizing hormone (LH) decreased and estradiol increased, while levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and LH/FSH did not show significant changes during the 3-month follow-up. There were decreases in testosterone and fasting insulin levels when the postoperative follow-up time was 6 months or ≥12 months. Levels of fasting blood glucose and triglycerides were significantly reduced after 6 months or ≥12 months of bariatric surgery. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) significantly improved ≥12 months after bariatric surgery.ConclusionSymptoms of PCOS and related complications are significantly alleviated after bariatric surgery. In addition, we found a significant improvement on anomalous secretion of gonadotropins, glucose metabolism, and lipid metabolism in patients with PCOS after bariatric surgery.     

腹腔镜食管胃吻合肌瓣成形术对于直径>5 cm食管胃结合部肿瘤近端胃切除术后消化道重建安全可行

目的探讨腹腔镜辅助食管胃吻合肌瓣成形术(Kamikawa吻合)在治疗肿瘤最大径>5 cm的食管胃结合部(EGJ)平滑肌瘤或胃肠间质瘤近端胃切除术后消化道重建的安全性及可行性。方法采用描述性病例系列研究方法,回顾性分析广东省中医院胃肠外科2017年9月至2019年3月期间,收治并施行腹腔镜辅助近端胃切除术和Kamikawa吻合的EGJ平滑肌瘤和胃肠间质瘤病例资料。肿瘤均侵犯贲门齿状线,且最大径>5 cm;排除需急诊手术和合并有严重心肺疾病患者后,共4例患者纳入本研究,男性3例,女性1例,年龄29-49岁。患者接受腹腔镜辅助近端胃切除术后,把残胃提出腹腔外,距残胃前壁近端3-4 cm处亚甲蓝标记"H"形,并沿"H"形切开胃壁浆肌层,沿纵行切开线向两侧分离黏膜下层和肌层之间的间隙,制作浆肌瓣;将残胃放回腹腔,腹腔镜下将"H"形上边与食管后壁距断端4-5 cm处间断缝合4针;切开食管残端,在"H"形的下边切开黏膜下层和黏膜层,进入胃腔;腹腔镜下将食管断端后壁与残胃黏膜层和黏膜下层连续缝合,食管断端前壁与残胃全层连续缝合,将胃前壁浆肌瓣缝合包埋食管,完成消化道重建。观察患者术中并发症和术后反流性食管炎和吻合口相关并发症的发生率。结果 4例患者均顺利完成手术,无中转开腹。手术中位时间为239(192-261)min,Kamikawa吻合中位时间为149(102-163)min,术中中位出血量为35(20-200)ml。4例患者均术后第1天拔除腹腔引流管和胃管,并恢复流质饮食,术后住院中位时间为6(6-8)d。术后病理提示,3例平滑肌瘤,1例胃肠间质瘤。术后无吻合口漏及狭窄等并发症,未观察到反流症状。术后中位随访时间22(11-29)个月,4例患者复查胃镜均未见反流性食管炎。结论对于>5 cm的EGJ平滑肌瘤或胃肠间质瘤,近端胃切除术后应用腹腔镜辅助Kamikawa吻合进行消化道重建,安全可行。