The clinical features of late onset acne compared with early onset acne in women

Background Little is known about the clinical characteristics of acne based on the age of onset. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients according to the age of onset of acne and evaluate whether the findings were related to regional differences in the density of Propionibacterium acnes or the levels of sebum secretion. Methods A total of 89 women were recruited. The acne lesions were assessed by counting the lesions using standard digital photographs. Digital fluorescent photography for the evaluation of the density of P. acnes were taken and quantitative measurements of facial sebum secretion were performed. Results In women with acne, the age of onset was negatively correlated with the number of comedones and the proportion of comedones. By comparing the number of comedones and the proportion of comedones, onset of acne after 21 years of age was defined as late onset acne. In the patients with late onset acne, the number of comedones, the total number of acne lesions and the proportions of comedones were significantly less than in the patients with early onset acne. However, there were no significant differences in the fluorescence density of P. acnes or the level of sebum secretion between the two groups. Conclusions The results of this study, using objective evaluation tools, suggest that late onset acne has different clinical characteristics. Other possible factors might explain the clinical differences in late onset acne.     

Perinatal mortality and morbidity in a nationwide cohort of 529 688 low-risk planned home and hospital births

Objective  To compare perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity between planned home and planned hospital births, among low-risk women who started their labour in primary care.
Design  A nationwide cohort study.
Setting  The entire Netherlands.
Population  A total of 529 688 low-risk women who were in primary midwife-led care at the onset of labour. Of these, 321 307 (60.7%) intended to give birth at home, 163 261 (30.8%) planned to give birth in hospital and for 45 120 (8.5%), the intended place of birth was unknown.
Methods  Analysis of national perinatal and neonatal registration data, over a period of 7 years. Logistic regression analysis was used to control for differences in baseline characteristics.
Main outcome measures  Intrapartum death, intrapartum and neonatal death within 24 hours after birth, intrapartum and neonatal death within 7 days and neonatal admission to an intensive care unit.
Results  No significant differences were found between planned home and planned hospital birth (adjusted relative risks and 95% confidence intervals: intrapartum death 0.97 (0.69 to 1.37), intrapartum death and neonatal death during the first 24 hours 1.02 (0.77 to 1.36), intrapartum death and neonatal death up to 7 days 1.00 (0.78 to 1.27), admission to neonatal intensive care unit 1.00 (0.86 to 1.16).
Conclusions  This study shows that planning a home birth does not increase the risks of perinatal mortality and severe perinatal morbidity among low-risk women, provided the maternity care system facilitates this choice through the availability of well-trained midwives and through a good transportation and referral system.     

Chronic leg ulcers in adult patients with rheumatological diseases – a 7‐year retrospective review

Chronic leg ulcers in patients with rheumatological diseases can cause significant morbidity. We performed a retrospective case review to describe the epidemiology, clinical features and outcome of chronic leg ulcers in this group of patients. Twenty‐nine patients with underlying rheumatological conditions, such as, rheumatoid arthritis (15 patients), systemic lupus erythematosus (8 patients), overlap syndromes (3 patients), systemic sclerosis (1 patient) and ankylosing spondylitis (1 patient) were included. The ulcers were mostly located around the ankle (55·2%) and calves (37·9%). The predominant aetiology of the ulcers, in decreasing order of frequency, was venous disease, multifactorial, vasculitis or vasculopathy, infective, pyoderma gangrenosum, ischaemic microangiopathy and iatrogenic. Treatment modalities included aggressive wound bed preparation, compression therapy (17 patients), changes in immunosuppressive therapy (15 patients), hyperbaric oxygen therapy (4 patients) and cellular skin grafting (2 patients). Management of chronic leg ulcers in rheumatological patients is challenging and the importance of careful clinicopathological correlation and treatment of the underlying cause cannot be overemphasised.     

颈椎前路钢板固定致相邻节段骨化

背景：根据我们的经验，颈椎前路钢板固定后相邻节段可发生骨化。我们假设，钢板距相邻椎间隙越近骨化越严重。 方法：我们回顾性地复习了118例退变性颈椎病患者经前路钢板固定治疗后已获得坚强融合的侧位X线片，所有患者在此次融合术之前均无颈椎手术史。在术后侧位X线片上测量两个相邻椎间隙上钢板至椎间盘的距离，并据此将患者分为两组。A组钢板至椎间盘的距离〈5mm，B组该距离≥5mm。平均随访25．7个月。将两个相邻椎间隙骨化的严重程度分为0（无骨化）到3级（完全骨桥形成）。18例患者由于肩部骨性阻挡致尾侧椎间隙无法观察，使其骨化程度不易计算而排除在外。 结果：在118例头侧相邻椎间隙中70例（59％）出现骨化，100例尾侧相邻椎间隙中29例（29％）出现骨化（p〈0．001）。头侧的钢板至椎间盘平均距离小于尾侧的平均距离（p〈0．001）。无论头侧相邻间隙（67％对24％）还是尾侧相邻间隙（45％对5％）A组的骨化率均高于B组（均p〈0．001）。此外，在28例中、重度骨化者中，93％（26例）出现在A组。 结论：我们发现颈椎前路钢板固定后相邻节段的骨化与钢板-椎间盘距离之间呈正相关。我们要尽量将前路钢板放置在距相邻椎间隙5mm以上，以降低相邻节段中、重度骨化发生的可能性。 可信水平：治疗性研究，Ⅲ级。进一步可信度参见作者介绍。     

Characterization of rare transforming KRAS mutations in sporadic colorectal cancer

KRAS mutational status has been shown to be a predictive biomarker of resistance to anti-EGFR monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. We report the spectrum of KRAS mutation in 1506 patients with colorectal cancer and the identification and characterization of rare insertion mutations within the functional domain of KRAS. KRAS mutations are found in 44.5% (670/1506) of the patients. Two cases are found to harbor double mutations involving both codons 12 and 13. The frequencies of KRAS mutations at its codons 12, 13, 61, and 146 are 75.1%, 19.3%, 2.5%, and 2.7%, respectively. The most abundant mutation of codon 12 is G12D, followed by G12V and G12C while G13D is the predominant mutation in codon 13. Mutations in other codons are rare. The KRAS mutation rate is significantly higher in women (48%, 296/617) than in men (42.1%, 374/889, P = 0.023). Tumors on the right colon have a higher frequency of KRAS mutations than those on the left (57.3% vs. 40.4%, P < 0.0001). Two in-frame insertion mutations affect the phosphate-binding loop (codon 10–16) of KRAS are identified. One of them has never been reported before. Compared with wild-type protein, the insertion variants enhance the cellular accumulation of active RAS (RAS-GTP) and constitutively activate the downstream signaling pathway. NIH3T3 cells transfected with the insertion variants show enhanced anchorage-independent growth and in vivo tumorigenicity. Potentially these mutations contribute to primary resistance to anti-EGFR mAb therapy but the clinical implication requires further validation.     

放置内踝螺钉的安全区

背景：骨折固定时放置金属物会使软组织处于损伤或相接触的危险之中。突起的金属物是踝关节骨折内固定术后引起疼痛的常见原因。本研究设计的目的是评价放置内踝螺钉后胫后肌腱损伤或相接触的危险度。方法：使用10具不配对的在膝关节处离断的尸体肢体，通过切开皮肤暴露内踝。在X线透视和直视深筋膜情况下，将3根克氏针自内踝尖置入并从内踝关节面平行进入，第一根针入点在前丘部的中心，另外两根针平行置入并间隔前一根后面5mm，克氏针退出后，在克氏针的轨道上拧入4．0mm螺钉。切开标本以观察胫后肌腱损伤情况和螺钉与胫后肌腱的接近程度。内踝按照解剖标志分成3个区：1区是前丘部，2区是丘间沟，3区是后丘部。结果：置于1区（前丘部）的螺钉在所有标本上不与胫后肌腱接触。置于2区（丘间沟）的螺钉平均距离胫后肌腱2mm，置于3区（后丘部）的螺钉在所有标本均会引起肌腱接触，并有5个标本引起肌腱损伤。结论：在前丘部之后置入的螺钉会使胫后肌腱有损伤或相接触的危险。临床实用性：基于这三个结果，我们建议在前丘部后面置入内踝螺钉时，应直视胫后肌腱。     

Radiological, pathological and DNA remission in recurrent metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Background  

Circulating plasma Epstein Barr Virus DNA (EBV-DNA) is a sensitive and specific marker of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The mainstay of treatment of metastatic NPC is systemic chemotherapy and resection for solitary metastasis. Despite high response rate to chemotherapy, complete remission is uncommonly seen.     

三七中人参三醇甙对动物缺血性心律失常的影响

三七中人参三醇甙(简称PTS)能明显对抗大鼠结扎冠状动脉诱发的缺血性心律失常及再灌注性心律失常,并可使缺血再灌注引起的心肌梗塞范围明显缩小。对iv CaCl₂-Ach引起的小鼠房颤或房扑也有明显的保护作用。PTS还可明显延长小鼠在常压缺氧条件下的存活时间。