Esophageal Surveillance Practices in Esophageal Atresia Patients: A Survey by the Eastern Pediatric Surgery Network

IntroductionEndoscopic surveillance guidelines for patients with repaired esophageal atresia (EA) rely primarily on expert opinion. Prior to embarking on a prospective EA surveillance registry, we sought to understand EA surveillance practices within the Eastern Pediatric Surgery Network (EPSN).MethodsAn anonymous, 23-question Qualtrics survey was emailed to 181 physicians (surgeons and gastroenterologists) at 19 member institutions. Likert scale questions gauged agreement with international EA surveillance guideline-derived statements. Multiple-choice questions assessed individual and institutional practices.ResultsThe response rate was 77%. Most respondents (80%) strongly agree or agree that EA surveillance endoscopy should follow a set schedule, while only 36% claimed to perform routine upper GI endoscopy regardless of symptoms. Many institutions (77%) have an aerodigestive clinic, even if some lack a multi-disciplinary EA team. Most physicians (72%) expressed strong interest in helping develop evidence-based guidelines.ConclusionsOur survey reveals physician agreement with current guidelines but weak adherence. Surveillance methods vary greatly, underscoring the lack of evidence-based data to guide EA care. Aerodigestive clinics may help implement surveillance schedules. Respondents support evidence-based protocols, which bodes well for care standardization. Results will inform the first multi-institutional EA databases in the United States (US), which will be essential for evidence-based care.Level of EvidenceThis is a prognosis study with level 4 evidence.     

The effect of immediate postpartum levonorgestrel contraceptive implant use on breastfeeding and infant growth: a randomized controlled trial

Objective

This study assessed whether immediate postpartum insertion of levonorgestrel contraceptive implants is associated with a difference in infant growth from birth to 6 months, onset of lactogenesis, or breastfeeding continuation at 3 and 6 months postpartum compared to delayed insertion at 6 to 8 weeks postpartum.

Elevated glycohemoglobin HbA1c is associated with low back pain in nonoverweight diabetics

Background Context

Low back pain (LBP) is a common complaint in clinical practice of multifactorial origin. Although obesity has been thought to contribute to LBP primarily by altering the distribution of mechanical loads on the spine, the additional contribution of obesity-related conditions such as diabetes mellitus (DM) to LBP has not been thoroughly examined.

Improving Prenatal Diagnosis of Coarctation of the Aorta

Background

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the association between fetal echocardiographic measurements and the need for intervention (primary coarctation repair, staged coarctation repair, or catheter intervention) in prenatally diagnosed coarctation of the aorta.

A DNA vaccine expressing an optimized secreted FAPα induces enhanced anti-tumor activity by altering the tumor microenvironment in a murine model of breast cancer

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), major components of the tumor microenvironment (TME), promote tumor growth and metastasis and inhibit the anti-tumor immune response. We previously constructed a DNA vaccine expressing human FAPα, which is highly expressed by CAFs, to target these cells in the TME, and observed limited anti-tumor effects in the 4T1 breast cancer model. When the treatment time was delayed until tumor nodes formed, the anti-tumor effect of the vaccine completely disappeared. In this study, to improve the safety and efficacy, we constructed a new FAPα-targeted vaccine containing only the extracellular domain of human FAPα with a tissue plasminogen activator signal sequence for enhanced antigen secretion and immunogenicity. The number of CAFs was more effectively reduced by CD8⁺ T cells induced by the new vaccine. This resulted in decreases in CCL2 and CXCL12 expression, leading to a significant decrease in the ratio of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the TME. Moreover, when mice were treated after the establishment of tumors, the vaccine could still delay tumor growth. To facilitate the future application of the vaccine in clinical trials, we further optimized the gene codons and reduced the homology between the vaccine and the original sequence, which may be convenient for evaluating the vaccine distribution in the human body. These results indicated that the new FAPα-targeted vaccine expressing an optimized secreted human FAPα induced enhanced anti-tumor activity by reducing the number of FAPα⁺ CAFs and enhancing the recruitment of effector T cells in the 4T1 tumor model mice.     

Could non-HDL-cholesterol be a better marker of atherogenic dyslipidemia in obstructive sleep apnea?

Background/objectiveObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is independently associated with dyslipidemia, a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol is accepted as a major independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. However, non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol is a better marker of atherogenic dyslipidemia and recommended as a target of lipid lowering therapy. We aimed to assess the prevalence of atherogenic dyslipidemia, and relationship between OSA severity and serum LDL-cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol levels in OSA patients.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated treatment naïve 2361 subjects admitted to the sleep laboratory of a university hospital for polysomnography. All subjects’ lipid profile including total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL-cholesterol were measured.ResultsOut of 2361 patients (mean age 49.6 ± 11.9 years; 68.9% male, apnea-hypopnea index 36.6 ± 28.4/h), 185 (7.8%) had no OSA and 2176 (92.2%) had OSA. Atherogenic dyslipidemia prevalence was high (57–66%) in OSA patients, and especially increased in severe OSA compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Though total and LDL-cholesterol did not differ between those with and without OSA, non-HDL-cholesterol (p = 0.020), and triglycerides (p = 0.001) were higher and HDL-cholesterol levels (p = 0.018) were lower in OSA patients than non-OSA. Non-HDL-cholesterol was significantly correlated with OSA severity (p < 0.001) and hypoxia parameters (p < 0.01), whereas LDL-cholesterol showed no correlation.ConclusionsAtherogenic dyslipidemia is highly prevalent and non-HDL-cholesterol levels are significantly increased, predominantly in severe OSA patients. Non-HDL-cholesterol but not LDL-cholesterol, is significantly correlated with OSA severity and hypoxia parameters. Therefore, it could be better to use non-HDL-cholesterol, which is a guideline recommended target of lipid therapy, as a marker of atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk in OSA patients.     

完全型雄激素不敏感综合征2例临床特点及处理

雄激素不敏感综合征(androgen insensitivity syndrome,AIS)又称为睾丸女性化综合征(testicular feminization syndrome,TFS),是一种X连锁遗传病,是男性假两性畸形中较常见的类型,可分为完全型AIS和不完全型AIS,其原因主要是雄激素受体(androgen receptor,AR)基因的突变导致其对雄激素产生抵抗和不应答。本文回顾南京医科大学附属妇产医院2例CAIS患者的临床资料及诊疗过程,以期能进一步提高对该病的认知及诊治水平。     

Sequential Therapy Based on Evolvement of Patterns: A New Model for Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

In order to solve the problem of long-term (>9 months) efficacy in the treatment of Alzheimer''s disease (AD) by conventional therapy (CT), a staged and multiply-targeted sequential therapy based on the evolvement of patterns (STEP) was developed. Its main innovations include: (1) the time order of evolution of patterns defined by Chinese medicine (CM) in AD was found, that is, "the orderly pattern evolution starting from Shen (Kidney) deficiency, progressing to phlegm, stasis and fire, and worsening to severe toxin as well as functional collapse"; (2) the cascade hypothesis of Shen deficiency in AD and its sequential therapy based on Shen-reinforcing was proposed, that is, "reinforcing Shen in the early stage and throughout the whole process, resolving phlegm, activating blood and purging fire in the middle stage, detoxifying and replenishing vitality to stop the collapse in the advanced stage", and through meta-analysis, clinical drug use was optimized, thus the leap from "inferential selection" to "evidence-based selection" was realized; (3) the STEP regimen combined with CT maintained cognitive and behavioral stability in AD patients for at least 12 months, with cognitive enhancement and behavioral synergy after 9 months, and cognitive benefit was superior to CT at 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, and 24 months, respectively. The 2-year cognitive improvement rate was increased by 25.64% (P=0.020) and the cognitive deterioration rate was decreased by 48.71% (P=0.000). Among them, the cognitive and functional benefits of Shen-reinforcing therapy for very early AD (350 cases) for 1 year were better than the placebo (P<0.001), and the dementia conversion rate was reduced by 8.85% (P=0.002). The behavioral symptomatic relief of patients with vascular dementia received fire-purging therapy (540 cases) was superior to those received CT (P=0.016). These data suggested that the STEP regimen has synergistic effects on CTs at least in terms of cognitive benefit, and the earlier the use, the greater the benefit will have. Therefore, the STEP regimen should be considered as one of the clinical options, particularly for the dearth of effective pharmaceutical or immunological interventions that are currently available for AD.