Fertility Outcome After Renal Transplantation: A Single-Center Experience

BackgroundWomen suffering from kidney disease are more prone to fertility problems, due to uremia. Fortunately, their fertility rate increases dramatically after renal transplantation. This study analyzes the predictors/risk factors of successful pregnancy with live birth outcome while presenting an overview of the 7-year experience of a single center.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study includes 239 women of reproductive age (18–40 years) who underwent renal transplantation in a tertiary Turkish clinic between October 1, 2011, and August 24, 2017. The subjects were invited to take part in a survey questioning their obstetric characteristics and they were assessed in 2 groups: fertile and infertile. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of a successful pregnancy.ResultsThirty-five 35 patients wished to become pregnant: 12 got pregnant spontaneously, while 21 failed to become pregnant (spontaneously). The mean age of the patients at the survey was 34 ± 7. Regular menstrual cycles after renal transplantation, tacrolimus-mycophenolate mofetil maintenance protocol, and age at transplantation were found to be predictors of spontaneous pregnancy. The duration of peritoneal dialysis was significantly longer in the infertile group (48 vs 12 months).ConclusionEnd-stage renal disease's negative impacts, including menstrual abnormality and fertility problems, can be overcome by successful kidney transplantation with appropriate immunosuppression. Minimizing the duration of peritoneal dialysis, particularly in patients who desire future fertility, may be accepted as a logical management strategy.     

Clinical equivalence assessment of T2 synthesized pediatric brain magnetic resonance imaging

Background and purposeAutomated synthetic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides qualitative, weighted image contrasts as well as quantitative information from one scan and is well-suited for various applications such as analysis of white matter disorders. However, the synthesized contrasts have been poorly evaluated in pediatric applications. The purpose of this study was to compare the image quality of synthetic T2 to conventional turbo spin-echo (TSE) T2 in pediatric brain MRI.Materials and methodsThis was a mono-center prospective study. Synthetic and conventional MRI acquisitions at 1.5 Tesla were performed for each patient during the same session using a prototype accelerated T2 mapping sequence package (TA_synthetic = 3:07 min, TA_conventional = 2:33 min). Image sets were blindly and randomly analyzed by pediatric neuroradiologists. Global image quality, morphologic legibility of standard structures and artifacts were assessed using a 4-point Likert scale. Inter-observer kappa agreements were calculated. The capability of the synthesized contrasts and conventional TSE T2 to discern normal and pathologic cases was evaluated.ResultsSixty patients were included. The overall diagnostic quality of the synthesized contrasts was non-inferior to conventional imaging scale (P = 0.06). There was no significant difference in the legibility of normal and pathological anatomic structures of synthetized and conventional TSE T2 (all P > 0.05) as well as for artifacts except for phase encoding (P = 0.008). Inter-observer agreement was good to almost perfect (kappa between 0.66 and 1).ConclusionsT2 synthesized contrasts, which also provides quantitative T2 information that could be useful, could be suggested as an equivalent technique in pediatric neuro-imaging, compared to conventional TSE T2.     

实时超声引导微波消融术治疗子宫腺肌瘤的临床应用研究

目的 探讨实时超声引导微波消融术治疗子宫腺肌瘤的临床应用。方法 选取2015年1月～2019年1月收入我院子宫腺肌瘤患者37例为研究对象。采用超声造影评价患者的腺肌瘤消融率,常规超声评价瘤体缩小率。采用临床疗效评定标准来评价患者临床症状改善情况。结果 痛经改善率为78.9%(15/19),月经失调改善率为42.9%(9/21),贫血改善率为55.6%(10/18)。超声造影显示仅3例出现消融不完全,消融有效率为91.9%,术后行补充消融治疗,37例局限性子宫腺肌瘤平均消融率均达90%以上。与治疗前比较,治疗后3、6、12个月患者瘤体缩小率分别为60.8%、78.1%、93.1%,差异有统计学意义(P0.05)。与治疗前比较,治疗后临床症状有改善。结论实时超声引导微波消融术治疗子宫腺肌瘤患者,能够减小腺肌瘤体积,且能够明显改善患者临床症状,为子宫肌瘤患者提供新的治疗手段。     

500 Cases of High-intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) Ablated Uterine Fibroids and Adenomyosis

ObjectiveClinical outcomes of 500 high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU)-treated uterine fibroids and adenomyosis are analyzed and presented.Materials and methodsThis is a retrospective cross-sectional analysis from a single tertiary medical center. From April 2015 to October 2018, 546 cases were enrolled for the study. After excluding 46 patients with less than 3 months of follow-up period, there were 404 fibroids, 149 adenomyosis and 53 mixed conditions entered for analysis. The patients’ uterine fibroids and adenomyosis were treated by HIFU according to Chongqing Haifu protocol, with 12 cm diameter transducer of focal length 10–16  cm at 0.8 or 1.6 MHz T2-weight MRI imaging was rendered prior to and 3 month post treatment to assess lesion volume change using non-perfusion volume, which was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes including quality of life, subjective satisfaction, adverse events and pregnancy rate were determined using self-reported questionnaires. The mean follow up period ranged from 3 to 38 months with an average of 21 months.ResultsThree months after HIFU-treated uterine fibroids and adenomyosis, the lesion size reduced 40.2% and 46.3%, respectively. Symptoms all improved with better quality of life for the fibroid group, while those with adenomyosis or combined diseases benefit the most from pain control. Serum CA125 decreased significantly for all studied groups, and LDH only showed improvement for fibroids group. Number of adverse events is comparable to Chongqing data (approximately 10.2%), with mostly mild and self-resolving conditions. No permanent sequelae or death was documented. Twelve pregnancies are reported in this cohort.ConclusionHIFU is safe and effective in treating uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. The results are reproducible if standardized treatment schedules are followed. It is a promising treatment alternative with the advantages of precision, non-invasiveness, rapid recovery and readiness for pregnancy.     

不同影像检查在乳腺结构扭曲中的研究进展

我国乳腺癌的发病率占女性恶性肿瘤疾病的首位,结构扭曲病变(architectural distortion,AD)作为触诊阴性乳腺癌的第三最常见影像学表现,也是乳腺癌最早出现的征象,具有重要的临床价值。AD具有较高的漏诊率及假阳性率。本文通过查阅文献,针对超声、乳腺X线摄影、乳腺数字三维断层摄影技术及核磁共振成像技术在乳腺结构扭曲病变中的研究进展及优缺点进行分析,进一步指导科学研究及临床工作。     

Ultrasound-Assist Extrusion Methods for the Fabrication of Polymer Nanocomposites Based on Polypropylene/Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes

Isotactic polypropylenes (iPP) with different melt flow indexes (MFI) were used to fabricate nanocomposites (NCs) with 10 wt % loadings of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using ultrasound-assisted extrusion methods to determine their effect on the morphology, melt flow, and electrical properties of the NCs. Three different types of iPPs were used with MFIs of 2.5, 34 and 1200 g/10 min. Four different NC fabrication methods based on melt extrusion were used. In the first method melt extrusion fabrication without ultrasound assistance was used. In the second and third methods, an ultrasound probe attached to a hot chamber located at the exit of the die was used to subject the sample to fixed frequency and variable frequency, respectively. The fourth method is similar to the first method, with the difference being that the carbon nanotubes were treated in a fluidized air-bed with an ultrasound probe before being used in the fabrication of the NCs with no ultrasound assistance during extrusion. The samples were characterized by MFI, Optical microscopy (OM), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrical surface resistivity, and electric charge. MFI decreases in all cases with addition of MWCNTs with the largest decrease observed for samples with the highest MFI. The surface resistivity, which ranged from 10¹³ to 10⁵ Ω/sq, and electric charge, were observed to depend on the ultrasound-assisted fabrication method as well as on the melt flow index of the iPP. A relationship between agglomerate size and area ratio with electric charge was found. Several trends in the overall data were identified and are discussed in terms of MFI and the different fabrication methods.