Comparative Study of Modified Posterior Operation to Treat Kümmell's Disease

The present study aimed at examining the curative effect of modified posterior operation on treatment of Kümmell''s disease.About 30 patients of Kümmell''s disease with complete image and clinical data treated during June 2004 to July 2013 were conducted with anterior and posterior approaches, respectively. Kyphotic Cobb angle, fractured vertebra wedge angle, and the anterior and posterior heights of fractured vertebra were all measured through x-ray before and after operation, and the pain visual analog scale (VAS) was determined for evaluating the effect of operations. The injury and restoration of neurological function were assessed using Frankel classification.Patients in group A were treated with anterior operation, whereas group B was posterior operation. Postoperatively, VAS score, kyphotic Cobb angle, anterior vertebra height, and pathologic vertebra wedge angle were all significantly improved in patients with Kümmell''s disease receiving modified posterior operation (group B). Similar results were also observed in patients with anterior operation. The improvement of VAS and correction rate of kyphotic Cobb angle indicated equivalent effects of posterior and anterior operations. Meanwhile, alleviated neurological function damage was observed in 2 groups. Relevant factor analysis illustrated that there was no significant correlation of the severity and improvement rate of pain symptoms with age, medical history, anterior and posterior vertebra heights, kyphotic Cobb angle, and pathological vertebra wedge angle.Compared with traditional anterior approach, modified posterior operation, adopting transpedicular vertebral body grafting combined with vertebral pedicle screw fixation, could produce equivalent effects on kyphosis correction, pain relief, and improvement of neurological function in patients with Kümmell''s disease.     

Radiomics model based on preoperative gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI for predicting liver failure

BACKGROUND Postoperative liver failure is the most severe complication in cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) after major hepatectomy. Current available clinical indexes predicting postoperative residual liver function are not sufficiently accurate.AIM To determine a radiomics model based on preoperative gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for predicting liver failure in cirrhotic patients with HCC after major hepatectomy.METHODS For this retrospective study, a radiomics-based model was developed based on preoperative hepatobiliary phase gadoxetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance images in 101 patients with HCC between June 2012 and June 2018. Sixty-one radiomic features were extracted from hepatobiliary phase images and selected by the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method to construct a radiomics signature. A clinical prediction model, and radiomics-based model incorporating significant clinical indexes and radiomics signature were built using multivariable logistic regression analysis. The integrated radiomics-based model was presented as a radiomics nomogram. The performances of clinical prediction model, radiomics signature, and radiomics-based model for predicting post-operative liver failure were determined using receiver operating characteristics curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analyses.RESULTS Five radiomics features from hepatobiliary phase images were selected to construct the radiomics signature. The clinical prediction model, radiomics signature, and radiomics-based model incorporating indocyanine green clearance rate at 15 min and radiomics signature showed favorable performance for predicting postoperative liver failure(area under the curve: 0.809-0.894). The radiomics-based model achieved the highest performance for predicting liver failure(area under the curve: 0.894; 95%CI: 0.823-0.964). The integrated discrimination improvement analysis showed a significant improvement in the accuracy of liver failure prediction when radiomics signature was added to the clinical prediction model(integrated discrimination improvement = 0.117, P =0.002). The calibration curve and an insignificant Hosmer-Lemeshow test statistic(P = 0.841) demonstrated good calibration of the radiomics-based model. The decision curve analysis showed that patients would benefit more from a radiomics-based prediction model than from a clinical prediction model and radiomics signature alone.CONCLUSION A radiomics-based model of preoperative gadoxetic acid–enhanced MRI can be used to predict liver failure in cirrhotic patients with HCC after major hepatectomy.     

甲状腺疾病患者血清 Tg-CIC 中 Tg-Ab 水平检测及相关临床研究

目的　对血清甲状腺球蛋白免疫复合物 (thyroglobulin circulating immune complex, Tg-CIC) 中抗甲状腺球蛋白抗体 (anti-thyroglobulin antibody, Tg-Ab) 含量检测，探讨 Tg-CIC 在甲状腺疾病中的临床以及流行病学意义。方法　收集甲状腺疾病患者血清标本 187 例，每例血清标本分为两组 ( 实验组和空白对照组 )，采用免疫复合物解离专利技术对甲状腺疾病患者血清标本 Tg-CIC 进行分离、解离，通过检测 Tg-CIC 解离后的 Tg-Ab 含量来间接反映甲状腺疾病患者血清中Tg-CIC 水平，按照不同的甲状腺疾病进行分组并对实验结果分析讨论。结果　不同甲状腺患者血清中 Tg-CIC 总阳性率达 92.51%，不同甲状腺疾病血清中 Tg-CIC 的阳性率差异无统计学意义 (χ?=2.917, P>0.05)。不同甲状腺疾病患者间血清游离 Tg-Ab 含量差异无统计学意义 (H=3.882, P>0.05)，不同甲状腺疾病患者间血清 CIC 中 Tg-Ab 含量差异无统计学意义(H=5.5842, P>0.05)。不同甲状腺疾病患者中，甲状腺功能亢进、甲状腺炎以及甲状腺结节患者血清游离 Tg-Ab 的含量与血清 CIC 中的 Tg-Ab 含量呈正相关 (P<0.05)，甲状腺功能减退、甲状腺肿瘤患者血清游离 Tg-Ab 的含量与血清 CIC 中的Tg-Ab 含量不相关 (P>0.05)。结论　在甲状腺疾病患者血清中，大部分可检出 Tg-CIC，与疾病类型无关。而甲状腺疾病患者中，甲状腺功能亢进、甲状腺炎以及甲状腺结节患者血清游离 Tg-Ab 含量与血清 CIC 中 Tg-Ab 含量存在相关性，为我们进一步了解 Tg-CIC 与甲状腺疾病的发生、发展的相关性研究奠定了基础，提供了新的研究视角。     

Association Study of Matrix Metalloproteinases Gene Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: Association of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) gene polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis is controversial. We conduct a meta-analysis to clarify this dispute.

Methods: We systematically searched the electronic PUBMED, EMBASE and CNKI databases for research articles about MMPs (MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9) gene polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) up to January 2015. According to the heterogeneity, fixed-effects or random-effects models were used to calculate crude odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs).

Results: A total of 11 articles involving 2143 cases and 2049 controls were included in this meta-analysis. Overall, no significant associations were observed between MMP-1-1607 1G/2G polymorphism and RA. Stratification by ethnicity, no significant associations were observed in Caucasian populations. Similarly, no significant associations were observed between MMP-3-1171 5A/6A, MMP-9-1562 C/T polymorphisms and RA in overall and Caucasian populations, respectively. However, a weak association was found between MMP-2-1306 C/T polymorphism and RA (C vs. T, OR?=?0.813, 95%CI?=?0.694–0.953, p?=?0.010) in overall populations.

Conclusions: The present meta-analysis suggests that MMP-1-1607 1G/2G, MMP-3-1171 5A/6A, MMP-9-1562 C/T polymorphisms are not associated with the susceptibility of RA, but MMP-2 -1306 C/T is weakly associated with susceptibility to RA. Further studies with more sample size are needed for definitive conclusions.