Factors influencing Helicobacter pylori eradication with 2 week combination therapy of lansoprazole and amoxycillin: Intragastric distribution of colonization and gastric mucosal atrophy

In Japan, gastric ulcers are often accompanied by marked gastric mucosal atrophy. We evaluated the dual therapy of double-dose lansoprazole and amoxycillin for Helicobacter pylori eradication in Japanese ulcer patients and investigated the effects of intragastric distribution of H. pylori colonization and gastric mucosal atrophy on eradication with this combination therapy. Seventy-six H. pylori-positive ulcer patients received lansoprazole (30 mg) plus amoxycillin (500 mg) twice daily for 2 weeks (LA-60 group), lansoprazole (30 mg once daily) plus amoxycillin (500 mg twice daily) for 2 weeks (LA-30 group) or lansoprazole (30 mg once daily) for 6 or 8 weeks (LPZ group). Infection was evaluated by light microscopy, culture and biopsy urease tests. Helicobacter pylori colonization was classified as localized to the corpus (localized type) or involving the antrum and corpus (whole type). Fundic mucosal atrophy was graded according to endoscopic and histological features. Eradication was achieved in 67.6% in the LA-60 group, 31.6% in the LA-30 group, and 0% in the LPZ group, and moderate or severe histological gastritis was improved in the LA-60 group. Eradication was better in localized-type colonization (92%) than whole-type (56%), and better with fundic mucosal atrophy (84%) than without, but poor in both whole-type colonization and scanty mucosal atrophy (47%). The LA-60 therapy achieves better eradication in Japanese ulcer patients with localized H. pylori colonization and/or gastric mucosal atrophy, which are likely to be important predictors for the successful eradication with dual therapy.     

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF VAGAL AND CARDIAC SYMPATHETIC NERVES TO THE REFLEX BRADYCARDIA INDUCED BY A PRESSOR STIMULUS IN THE CONSCIOUS RABBIT: COMPARISON OF 'STEADY STATE' AND 'RAMP' METHODS

1. The bradycardic response to a pressor stimulus, phenylephrine, was studied simultaneously in conscious rabbits by two different methods. 2. The ‘steady state’ method, in which bradycardia was measured at the peak of each pressor stimulus, demonstrated the existence of two groups of animals, in which the maximal heart periods were 867 (s.e.m. =49) and 563 (s.e.m. =34) ms and the slopes of the MAP-HP relationship were 24.6 (s.e.m. =1.6) and 8.1 (s.e.m. =0.7) ms/mmHg, respectively. 3. The difference in baroreflex sensitivity in the two groups was abolished by sympathetic nerve blockade with guanethidine (10 mg/kg) but not by vagal blockade. 4. The ‘ramp method’ which measures bradycardia during the rapid phase of MAP rise after phenylephrine did not detect any difference in response of the two groups of rabbits. 5. Guanethidine did not alter the slope of the MAP-HP relationship in either group of rabbits when this was assessed by the ‘ramp’ method. 6. These findings demonstrate that the ‘steady state’ method can detect changes in both vagal and sympathetic activity, while the ‘ramp’ method measures only vagally induced bradycardia. 7. It is concluded that some rabbits may have a genetic ability to activate baroreflex pathways mediating cardiac sympathetic inhibition in addition to vagal stimulation in response to a pressor stimulus.     

Basic and Clinical Studies on the Measurement of β-amyloid(1–42) in Cerebrospinal Fluid as a Diagnostic Marker for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders: Multi Center Study in Japan

Background : The development of diagnostic markers for earlier and more accurate clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is essential to identify unequivocally AD patients during life. This study is to investigate the basic performance and clinical significance of β‐amyloid_(1–42) (Aβ₄₂) level measurement in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) alone or in combination with CSF tau for distinguishing AD from non‐AD disorders. Methods : The basic characteristics of the reagent for measuring Aβ₄₂, which used Sandwich ELISA, was examined. The clinical studies were done at 5 centers in Japan. CSF samples from 353 patients were collected and classified into the following six groups; AD (n=189), Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI: n=25), Neurodegenerative disorders without AD (ND: n=66), Cerebrovascular disturbance (CVD: n=28), Other neurological disorders (OND: n=18) and Neurological control (NC: n=27) group. Results : Mean levels of Aβ₄₂ in CSF were significantly lower in AD (395 pg/mL) than MCI (586 pg/mL;p<0.001), ND (530 pg/mL; p<0.001), CVD (504 pg/mL; p<0.001) and NC (605 pg/mL; p<0.001), respectively. Mean levels of AD unit (tau/Aβ₄₂) were significantly higher in AD (1.63) than MCI (0.79; p<0.001), ND (0.56; p<0.001), CVD (0.34; p<0.001) and NC (0.19; p<0.001), respectively. Discrimination of AD from other related disorders was significantly improved by the combined assessment of Aβ₄₂ and tau. When the cut‐off level of an AD unit was 0.67, the sensitivity for AD was 80% and the specificity for other related disorders was 86%. The positive rate (AD unit>0.67) of MCI patients who had progressed to AD within a few years was 79% (15/19). Conclusion : The combined measurement of CSF Aβ₄₂ and tau is clinically a useful diagnostic marker to discriminate AD at an early stage including MCI from normal aging and other related disorders.     

Early markers of prolonged hospital stays in older people: a prospective, multicenter study of 908 inpatients in French acute hospitals

OBJECTIVES: To identify early markers of prolonged hospital stays in older people in acute hospitals. DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter study. SETTING: Nine hospitals in France. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand three hundred six patients aged 75 and older were hospitalized through an emergency department (Sujet Agé Fragile: Evaluation et suivi (SAFEs)--Frail Elderly Subjects: Evaluation and follow-up). MEASUREMENTS: Data used in a logistic regression were obtained through a gerontological evaluation of inpatients, conducted in the first week of hospitalization. The center effect was considered in two models as a random and fixed effect. Two limits were used to define a prolonged hospital stay. The first was fixed at 30 days. The second was adjusted for Diagnosis Related Groups according to the French classification (f-DRG). RESULTS: Nine hundred eight of the 1,306 hospital stays that made up the cohort were analyzed. Two centers (n=298) were excluded because of a large volume of missing f-DRGs. Two-thirds of subjects in the cohort analyzed were women (64%), with a mean age of 84. One hundred thirty-eight stays (15%) lasted more than 30 days; 46 (5%) were prolonged beyond the f-DRG-adjusted limit. No sociodemographic variables seemed to influence the length of stay, regardless of the limit used. For the 30-day limit, only cognitive impairment (odds ratio (OR)=2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.2-4.0) was identified as a marker for prolongation. f-DRG adjustment revealed other clinical markers. Walking difficulties (OR=2.6, 95% CI=1.2-16.7), fall risk (OR=2.5, 95% CI=1.7-5.3), cognitive impairment (OR=7.1, 95% CI=2.3-49.9), and malnutrition risk (OR=2.5, 95% CI=1.7-19.6) were found to be early markers for prolonged stays, although dependence level and its evolution, estimated using the Katz activity of daily living (ADL) index, were not identified as risk factors. CONCLUSION: When the generally recognized parameters of frailty are taken into account, a set of simple items (walking difficulties, risk of fall, risk of malnutrition, and cognitive impairment) enables a predictive approach to the length of stay of elderly patients hospitalized under emergency circumstances. Katz ADLs were not among the early markers identified.     

The influence of sunlight or dietary vitamin D on plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D in institutionalized elderly patients in a sub-tropical climate

Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in a group of thirty-eight nursing-home residents (age range 55–95 years) living in a sub-tropical climate (Brisbane, Australia) were less than 25 nmol/1 in 50% of cases. The effects of endogenously and exogenously derived vitamin D have been studied over three months (April-June) using the following treatment groups: A, placebo; B, daily sun exposure; C, 18.8 nmol vitamin D/day and D, 56.3 nmol vitamin D/day. Exposure to ultra-violet radiation of group B patients was monitored by meter and polysulphone film.
Group D exhibited a significant increase in Plasma 25(OH)D (P-CO.001) after one month of treatment and groups B and C, respectively, after two months (P < 0.01). No significant changes were observed in plasma concentrations of creatinine, calcium, phosphate and alkaline phosphatase during the study period.
A daily oral supplement of vitamin D in the range 18.8–56.3 nmol is proposed as the treatment of choice. It provides a safe and effective means of protection for elderly, institutionalized people against the effects of vitamin D deficiency.     

大蒜素对老年冠心病患者临床疗效的Meta分析

目的　通过Meta分析评价大蒜素对老年冠心病（CHD）患者临床疗效的影响。方法　计算机检索PubMed、EMBase、Cochrane图书馆、Science Direct、Google Scholar、中国知网、维普网和万方数据知识服务平台,检索时间截至2017年10月,收集关于使用大蒜素治疗老年冠心病的临床随机对照试验（RCTs）,对纳入文献进行质量评价和数据提取,采用Stata 11.0软件对心绞痛缓解情况、总胆固醇（TC）、三酰甘油（TG）、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇（LDL-C）、载脂蛋白B（Apo-B）、血浆一氧化氮（NO）、血压（BP）进行分析。结果　共纳入9篇文献,574例患者。Meta分析结果显示,两组心绞痛缓解情况比较,差异无统计学意义〔RR=1.03,95%CI（0.94,1.13）,P=0.559〕;大蒜素组TC水平低于对照组〔SMD=-1.16,95%CI（-2.23,-0.09）,P=0.033〕;两组TG水平比较,差异无统计学意义〔SMD=0.70,95%CI（-0.74,2.15）,P=0.34〕;大蒜素组LDL-C水平低于对照组〔SMD=-0.84,95%CI（-1.66,-0.02）,P=0.04〕;大蒜素组Apo-B水平低于对照组〔SMD=-0.80,95%CI（-1.06,-0.54）,P<0.001〕;大蒜素组血浆NO水平高于对照组〔SMD=0.71,95%CI（0,1.43）,P=0.049〕;两组收缩压（SBP）水平比较,差异无统计学意义〔SMD=-1.04,95%CI（-2.64,0.55）,P=0.20〕;两组舒张压（DBP）水平比较,差异无统计学意义〔SMD=-1.32,95%CI（-2.81,0.16）,P=0.08〕。结论　大蒜素能改善老年CHD患者血脂代谢紊乱情况及提高血浆NO浓度。     

甲状腺结节患者临床特征研究

目的　分析甲状腺结节患者的临床资料,为甲状腺结节良恶性的鉴别提供依据。方法　收集2014年1月—2015年2月于昆明医科大学第一附属医院因甲状腺结节行手术切除的646例患者的临床资料,以术后病理检查结果为诊断标准,比较不同基本资料、病史、血脂异常情况、超声影像特点、CT影像特点的甲状腺结节患者恶性结节发生率,检测甲状腺良、恶性结节患者促甲状腺激素（TSH）、甲状腺球蛋白抗体（TGAb）滴度、甲状腺过氧化物酶抗体（TPOAb）滴度。分析术前超声、CT对甲状腺结节性质的鉴别诊断价值及甲状腺结节恶性的危险因素。结果　不同年龄段甲状腺结节患者恶性结节发生率比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）;不同BMI、饮食碘摄入情况、甲状腺癌家族史情况、其他恶性肿瘤家族史情况甲状腺结节患者恶性结节发生率比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。本研究患者均行甲状腺超声检查,不同性质、低回声情况、边界、形态、结节内血流情况、纵横比、边缘成角情况、内部钙化情况、颈部淋巴结肿大情况的甲状腺结节患者恶性结节发生率比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。共85例患者行CT增强扫描,不同边界、颈部淋巴结肿大情况甲状腺结节患者恶性结节发生率比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。本研究患者均行TSH检测,恶性结节患者TSH高于良性结节患者（P=0.006）。行甲状腺自身抗体滴度检测的患者共395例,恶性结节患者TGAb滴度及TPOAb滴度均较良性结节患者高（P<0.001）。与术后病理检查结果比较,术前超声鉴别甲状腺结节性质的灵敏度为97.60%、特异度为82.77%、诊断符合率为89.47%,术前CT鉴别甲状腺结节性质的灵敏度、特异度、诊断符合率依次为95.12%、68.18%、81.18%。多因素Logistic回归分析显示,年龄较小、肥胖、饮食碘摄入多,超声检查甲状腺结节形态不规则、结节内血流丰富、纵横比≥1、边缘成角、内部有钙化,TSH升高及TPOAb滴度升高是甲状腺结节恶性的危险因素（P<0.05）。伴、不伴颈部淋巴结转移的甲状腺恶性结节患者结节内血流、内部有钙化情况比较,差异有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论　年龄较小（30~49岁）、肥胖、饮食碘摄入多,超声检查甲状腺结节形态不规则、结节内血流丰富、纵横比≥1、边缘成角、内部有钙化,TSH升高及TPOAb滴度升高是甲状腺结节恶性的危险因素;甲状腺结节内血流丰富及内部钙化更多见于伴颈部淋巴结转移的甲状腺癌。