Lower body mass index and higher height are correlated with increased varicocele risk

To evaluate the anthropometric indexes in subjects with varicocele compared to controls and the incidence of varicocele in different body mass index (BMI) groups for the purpose of exploring the association between varicocele and anthropometric indexes. A comprehensive literature search was conducted by using PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE databases and Cochrane Library up to February 2019. A systematic review and meta‐analysis was conducted by STATA, and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was utilised for assessing risk of bias. Ultimately, 13 articles containing seven case–control studies and six cross‐sectional studies with 1,385,630 subjects were involved in our study. Pooled results demonstrated that varicocele patients had a lower BMI (WMD = ?0.77, 95% CI = ?1.03 to ?0.51) and a higher height than nonvaricocele participants, especially in grade 3 varicocele patients. Subgroup analyses showed that normal BMI individuals had a higher risk of varicocele than obese or overweight individuals and a lower risk than underweight individuals. In conclusion, this study indicates that varicocele patients have a lower BMI and a higher height than nonvaricocele participants. Moreover, men with excess bodyweight have a lower incidence of varicocele compared to normal weight or underweight people. That is to say, high BMI and adiposity protect against varicocele and high BMI is associated with a decreased risk of varicocele.     

Dying is the Most Grown-Up Thing We Ever Do: But Do Health Care Professionals Prevent Us from Taking It Seriously?

This paper takes a somewhat slant perspective on flourishing and care in the context of suffering, death and dying, arguing that care in this context consists principally of ‘acts of work and courage that enable flourishing’. Starting with the perception that individuals, society and health care professionals have become dulled to death and the process of dying in Western advanced health systems, it suggests that for flourishing to occur, both of these aspects of life need to be faced more directly. The last days of life need to be ‘undulled’. Reflections upon the experiences of the author as carer and daughter in the face of her mother’s experience of death are used as basis for making suggestions about how care systems and professionals might better assist people in dealing with ‘the most grown up thing’ humans ever do, which is to die.     

乳腺炎性肌纤维母细胞瘤的研究进展

炎性肌纤维母细胞瘤（inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor，IMT）作为一种低度恶性潜能的间叶组织来源的肿瘤，病因及发病机制不明。主要见于儿童和青少年,最常见的部位是肺、肠系膜、网膜，发生于乳腺的比较罕见，且往往单发。乳腺炎性肌纤维母细胞瘤的临床症状及影像学特点均不典型，术前易造成误诊，本文复习国内外文献报道的乳腺炎性肌纤维母细胞瘤，从发病机制、临床表现、影像学特征、病理学特征、鉴别诊断、治疗及预后等方面作一系统综述。     

放疗在肝癌治疗中应用的研究进展

肝癌是临床上常见的恶性肿瘤，因早期症状不典型，至发现时往往已为中晚期，失去最佳手术治疗时机和机会。作为非手术治疗之一的放射治疗技术，其发展在近年来已有了较大的进步。放疗包括体外放疗和体内放疗，皆具有一定的治疗效果和相对可控的不良反应。本文就肝癌放射治疗的应用进展作一综述。