At the heart of the problem: congestive cardiac failure as a cause of ascites: A narrative review

Heart failure leading to cardiac ascites is an extremely rare and underrecognized entity in clinical practice. Recognizing cardiac ascites can be difficult, especially since patients presenting with ascites may have more than 1 etiology. Various biomarkers are available to aid in the diagnosis of cardiac ascites, though with differing sensitivities and specificities. Such biomarkers include serum albumin, ascitic albumin and protein, as well as serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP). While serum NT-proBNP is a powerful biomarker in distinguishing the etiology of ascites and monitoring treatment progression, its cost can be prohibitive in low-resource settings. Clinicians practicing under these circumstances may opt to rely on other parameters to manage their patients. We go on further to report a series of 3 patients with cardiac ascites to illustrate how these biomarkers may be employed in the management of this patient population. Clinicians should always keep in mind the differential diagnosis of cardiac failure as a cause of ascites. The resolution of cardiac ascites may serve as a surrogate clinical marker for response to antifailure therapy in lieu of NT-proBNP at resource-scarce centers.     

血浆脑钠肽在甲亢性心脏病诊断中的意义

目的检测甲状腺功能亢进性心脏病(甲亢性心脏病)患者血浆脑钠肽水平,评价脑钠肽在甲亢性心脏病早期诊断中的价值。方法采用快速全自动化学免疫发光仪检测甲亢性心脏病患者(25例)与单纯甲状腺功能亢进症(甲亢)患者(25例)血浆脑钠肽水平,并与健康体检者(30例)进行比较。结果甲亢性心脏病组、单纯甲亢组和正常对照组血浆脑钠肽水平分别为354.18±152.87 pg/ml、134.45±42.85 pg/ml和23.84±5.89 pg/ml,甲亢性心脏病组血浆脑钠肽水平明显高于单纯甲亢组和正常对照组(P均<0.01)。结论血浆脑钠肽水平检测可用于早期诊断甲亢性心脏病。     

持续性心房颤动导管消融前后血浆脑钠肽水平的变化

目的 观察持续性心房颤动(简称房颤)导管消融前后血浆脑钠肽(BNP)水平的变化.方法 测定68例持续性房颤且无器质性心脏病患者导管消融术前及术后90 d的血浆BNP水平.结果 在导管消融后大于3个月的随访中,12例(18%)患者复发心房扑动或房颤.导管消融后3个月血浆BNP水平由术前(80±17)ng/L降为(27±9)ng/L,与术前比较差异有统计学意义(P＜0.01).12例复发房性心律失常患者中,术后血浆BNP为(44±8)ng/L,而维持窦性心律者术后血浆BNP为(25±8)ng/L,两者差异有统计学意义(P＜0.01).结论 持续性房颤导管消融后BNP水平下降,且术后维持窦性心律组BNP水平明显低于复发房性心律失常组.     

神经元特异性烯醇化酶和脑钠肽在中老年基底节区出血 85例预后中的应用研究

目的探讨神经元特异性烯醇化酶( NSE)和脑钠肽在中老年基底节区出血病人预后评估中的应用价值。方法选择 2020年 1月至 2022年 12月在安徽医科大学附属滁州医院治疗的 85例中老年基底节区出血病人进行回顾性分析,根据病人发病后 3个月的改良 Rankin量表( mRS)评分,将病人分为预后良好组和预后不良组,利用受试者操作特征曲线( ROC曲线)和 logistic回归分析评估 NSE和脑钠肽的预后价值。结果预后良好组中 NSE(13.67±4.51)μg/L明显低于预后不良组(18.36±6.52)μg/L(P<0.001)预后良好组中脑钠肽 143.00(98.00,233.80)ng/L明显低于预后不良组 230.00(120.00,400.00)ng/L(P=0.002)。 ROC曲线显示,NSE和脑钠肽的最佳截取值分别为 15.5 μg/L和 156.5 ng/L。NSE联合脑钠肽时 AUC为 0.76,与二者单独应用时的 0.73、0.70差异无统计学意义。 logistic回归分析显示出血量( P=0.017)、 NSE(P=0.003)和脑钠肽( P=0.033)是影响病人预后的独立危险因素。结论 NSE和脑钠肽在中老年基底节区出血病人的短期预后评估中具有重要价值,值得进一步研究。     

寡糖Lewis A模拟肽对博莱霉素诱导的小鼠急性肺炎症性损伤的抑制作用

目的考察寡糖LewisA模拟肽对肺炎症性损伤的抑制作用。方法采用博莱霉素诱导小鼠肺产生炎症损伤 ,采用病理切片法观察LewisA模拟肽对炎症的影响。结果早期注射寡糖LewisA模拟肽可以抑制博莱霉素诱导的小鼠肺炎症性损伤。结论寡糖LewisA模拟肽可能作为抑制肺炎症性损伤的药物。     

Targeted Mutations in the Fusion Peptide Region of La Crosse Virus Attenuate Neuroinvasion and Confer Protection against Encephalitis

La Crosse virus (LACV) is a major cause of pediatric encephalitis and aseptic meningitis in the Midwestern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern United States, where it is an emerging pathogen. The LACV Gc glycoprotein plays a critical role in the neuropathogenesis of LACV encephalitis as the putative virus attachment protein. Previously, we identified and experimentally confirmed the location of the LACV fusion peptide within Gc and generated a panel of recombinant LACVs (rLACVs) containing mutations in the fusion peptide as well as the wild-type sequence. These rLACVs retained their ability to cause neuronal death in a primary embryonic rat neuronal culture system, despite decreased replication and fusion phenotypes. To test the role of the fusion peptide in vivo, we tested rLACVs in an age-dependent murine model of LACV encephalitis. When inoculated directly into the CNS of young adult mice (P28), the rLACV fusion peptide mutants were as neurovirulent as the rLACV engineered with a wild-type sequence, confirming the results obtained in tissue culture. In contrast, the fusion peptide mutant rLACVs were less neuroinvasive when suckling (P3) or weanling (P21) mice were inoculated peripherally, demonstrating that the LACV fusion peptide is a determinant of neuroinvasion, but not of neurovirulence. In a challenge experiment, we found that peripheral challenge of weanling (P21) mice with fusion peptide mutant rLACVs protected from a subsequent WT-LACV challenge, suggesting that mutations in the fusion peptide are an attractive target for generating live-attenuated virus vaccines. Importantly, the high degree of conservation of the fusion peptide amongst the Bunyavirales and, structurally, other arboviruses suggests that these findings are broadly applicable to viruses that use a class II fusion mechanism and cause neurologic disease.     

Efficacy of erenumab and factors predicting response after 3 months in treatment resistant chronic migraine: a clinical service evaluation

BackgroundCalcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors have been developed as options for treatment of chronic and episodic migraine. We present our experience of the use of erenumab in a tertiary headache centre.MethodsThis was a prospective clinical audit of all patients commenced on erenumab following a locally agreed pathway and criteria over a consecutive period. Patients received monthly erenumab 140 mg for 3 months. Data were collected prospectively at baseline and 3 months follow up.ResultsOne hundred three patients were commenced on erenumab during the study period. Patients had tried a median of 7 previous prophylactics, including onabotulinum toxin A in 94%. At 3 months there was a reduction in median total (28 to 20, 29% reduction, p < 0.0001) and severe (15 to 5, 67% reduction, p < 0.0001) headache days. 39.8% of patients achieved at least a 30% reduction in total headache days; 61.8% of patients achieved at least a 50% reduction in severe headache days. Meeting either of these thresholds was considered a positive response, 68% of patients achieved this. Presence of daily headache pattern was negatively associated with response, (56% response vs. 90% without daily headache, p = 0.0003). There was no association between age, gender, presence of medication overuse or number of previously tried prophylactic treatments and response to erenumab. 43% of patients reported at least one adverse effect, most commonly constipation (26%); treatment was discontinued in 3 patients due to adverse effects.ConclusionsErenumab was an effective treatment for chronic migraine in this treatment resistant population over 3 months of follow up. Presence of daily headache predicted poorer response but there was still a significant positive response rate in this group.     

乌司他丁干预对急性脑梗死患者血清D－二聚体、脑钠肽水平及认知功能的影响

目的：探讨乌司他丁干预对急性脑梗死患者血清D－二聚体、脑钠肽（brain natriuretic peptide,BNP）水平及认知功能的影响。方法：选取2012年1月—2013年1月急性脑梗死患者98例作为观察组,另选取30例健康自愿者作为对照组。观察组患者在基础治疗的基础上给予乌司他丁10万U静脉滴注,每8h给药1次,连续治疗7d。检测对照组人群和观察组患者治疗前和治疗1、3、5、7d时血清D－二聚体、BNP水平,并采用蒙特利尔认知评估量表对2组人群进行认知功能评价。结果：治疗前,观察组患者血清D－二聚体、BNP水平均明显高于对照组（P＜0．01）。观察组患者治疗3、5、7 d时血清D－二聚体、BNP水平均明显低于治疗前（P＜0．05）,并于治疗1 d时达到最高值[分别为（3．27±0．46）mg／L、（161．78±45．98）ng／ml],治疗7 d时达到最低值[分别为（1．67±0．76）mg／L、（109．67±31．78）ng／ml];观察组患者认知功能障碍发生率为28％（28．57％,28／98）。结论：乌司他丁干预可有效降低急性脑梗死患者血清D－二聚体、BNP水平,并可预防认知功能障碍的发生,是急性脑梗死的有效辅助治疗方法,值得临床推广。     

固相法合成心肌兴奋肽及其类似物

用Boc-和Tos-基团分别保护氨基和侧链胍基,以1%交联度聚苯乙烯二苯甲氨基树脂为载体,用DCC固相法合成肽,HF断裂肽树脂键和去除侧链保护基团,粗产物经高效液相层析纯化,合成了心肌兴奋肽Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH_2及其类似物Phe-Pro-Arg-Phe-NH_2,并观察了此二种肽对大鼠血压和心率的影响。     

不同剂量氟伐他汀对慢性心力衰竭大鼠心肌组织血管紧张素Ⅱ和脑利钠肽水平影响的实验研究

目的 探讨不同剂量氟伐他汀对阿霉素诱导的慢性心力衰竭大鼠心肌组织血管紧张素Ⅱ(AngⅡ)和脑利钠肽(BNP)水平的影响. 方法将60只SD大鼠随机分为正常对照组、心力衰竭对照组、小剂量氟伐他汀组和大剂量氟伐他汀组,除正常对照组予0.9%氯化钠注射液腹腔注射外,余3组均采用阿霉素腹腔注射的方法建立慢性心力衰竭大鼠模型.模...