Efficacy of Fumonisin Esterase in Piglets as Animal Model for Fumonisin Detoxification in Humans: Pilot Study Comparing Intraoral to Intragastric Administration

Fumonisins, a group of highly prevalent and toxic mycotoxins, are suspected to be causal agents of several diseases in animals and humans. In the animal feed industry, fumonisin esterase is used as feed additive to prevent mycotoxicosis caused by fumonisins. In humans, a popular dosage form for dietary supplements, with high patient acceptance for oral intake, is capsule ingestion. Thus, fumonisin esterase provided in a capsule could be an effective strategy against fumonisin intoxication in humans. To determine the efficacy of fumonisin esterase through capsule ingestion, two modes of application were compared using piglets in a small-scale preliminary study. The enzyme was administered intraorally (in-feed analogue) or intragastrically (capsule analogue), in combination with fumonisin B1 (FB1). Biomarkers for FB1 exposure; namely FB1, hydrolysed FB1 (HFB1) and partially hydrolysed forms (pHFB1a and pHFB1b), were measured both in serum and faeces using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method, and toxicokinetic parameters were calculated. Additionally, the serum sphinganine/sphingosine (Sa/So) ratio, a biomarker of effect, was determined using LC-MS/MS. A significantly higher Sa/So ratio was shown in the placebo group compared to both esterase treatments, demonstrating the efficacy of the esterase. Moreover, a significant decrease in serum FB1 area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) and an increase of faecal HFB1 AUC were observed after intraoral esterase administration. However, these effects were not observed with statistical significance after intragastric esterase administration with the current sample size.     

导管/静脉直径比预测血液肿瘤患者有症状性PICC相关血栓的研究

目的 探讨PICC导管/静脉直径比在预测血液肿瘤患者有症状性导管相关血栓的最佳临界值。方法 选取留置PICC的273例血液肿瘤患者作为研究对象,根据患者临床症状结合彩超监测有症状性血栓发生情况,通过logistic回归分析和受试者工作特征曲线确定导管/静脉直径比最佳临界值。结果 6.23%患者发生了有症状性导管相关血栓。导管/静脉直径比35%～45%、≥46%的患者发生导管相关血栓的的风险分别是≤34%患者的16.762、15.529倍。导管/静脉直径比38%是预测导管相关血栓的最佳临界值。结论 导管/静脉直径比与血液肿瘤患者PICC导管有症状性血栓的发生密切相关,临床置管操作时,应尽可能保证该比值≤38%。     

Efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in Japanese patients with severe eosinophilic asthma

Background

The MENSA trial assessed the efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. This report describes the efficacy and safety of mepolizumab in Japanese patients from MENSA.

Alcohol Abuse and Cardiac Disease

Background

Understanding the relationship between alcohol abuse, a common and theoretically modifiable condition, and the most common cause of death in the world, cardiovascular disease, may inform potential prevention strategies.

Bilirubin and its changes were negatively associated with diabetic kidney disease incidence and progression: A five-year's cohort study based on 5323 Chinese male diabetic patients

Aims

This study aimed to evaluate the association between baseline bilirubin (TBiL) and follow-up TBiL changes for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) incidence and progression based on a 5?years' cohort study.

The thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) level in serum at an early stage of a drug eruption is a prognostic biomarker of severity of systemic inflammation

Background

In severe drug eruptions, precise evaluation of disease severity at an early stage is needed to start appropriate treatment. It is not always easy to diagnose these conditions at their early stage. In addition, there are no reported prognostic biomarkers of disease severity in drug eruptions. The aim of this study was to test whether the thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) level in serum at an early stage of a drug eruption can serve as a prognostic biomarker of systemic inflammation.