An ultrasonographic monitoring of skin condition in patients receiving radiotherapy for head and neck cancers

Radiodermatitis is one of the commonest side effects of radiotherapy. They are usually assessed by semi‐quantitative clinical scores, which are not validated and may be subject to inter‐observer variability. A few previous studies suggested that high‐frequency ultrasonography (HF‐USG) is useful in the assessment of the acute phase of radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients. (a) To monitor skin changes by HF‐USG during the course of radiotherapy due to head and neck cancers, and (b) to determine whether there is any connection between skin sonograms and the skin scoring criteria. This prospective, observational study includes patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers, treated with radiotherapy or concomitant chemoradiation. The final analysis includes six patients. In every patient, the HF‐USG as well as dermatological assessment (target lesion score—TLS and CACE v. 4.0) were performed 4×: before, in the middle, day after, and 3 months after radiotherapy. There were significant differences between non‐irradiated skin thickness and thickness of skin with clinically obvious radiodermatitis (TLS grade 1‐4; P < .0001), as well as between irradiated, unchanged skin thickness (TLS grade 0) and thickness of skin with clinically obvious radiodermatitis (TLS grade 1‐4; P = .0002). There was no significant difference between non‐irradiated and irradiated, unchanged skin thickness (TLS grade 0; P = .9318). In four patients, we demonstrated subepidermal low echogenic band (SLEB). HF‐USG can be useful tool to noninvasive and objective assessment of skin changes during radiotherapy.     

Two-step hard acid deprotection/cleavage procedure for solid phase peptide synthesis

A new two-step deprotection/cleavage procedure for t-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) based solid phase peptide synthesis is reported. First the protective groups are removed from 4-(oxymethyl)-phenylacetamidomethyl (PAM) resin attached peptide with the weak hard acid, trimethylsilyl bromide-thioanisole/trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). In the second step, the peptide is cleaved from the resin with a stronger hard acid such as trimethylsilvl trifluoromethanesulfonate in TFA or with HF. The method is also shown to deformylate Nⁱⁿ-formyltryptophan moiety efficiently. The usefulness of this procedure for practical solid phase peptide synthesis is demonstrated by comparison with other deprotection methods in the synthesis of urotensin II and human endothelin.     

Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure: Will the Solution Be Shocking?

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) may occur in as many as 40% of all patients who suffer from heart failure. This review describes the scope of the problem, risk factors for SCD, the effect of medications used in heart failure on SCD and the potential effect of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in primary prevention.     

活力隆胶囊抗衰老作用的实验研究

活力隆胶囊由人参、黄芪、淫羊藿、灵芝、枸杞、原蚕蛾等2 0余味中药经现代科学方法研制而成。此方有滋补阴阳、大补气血、滋补强壮延年益寿之功效 ,临床应用已获预防和治疗效果。本文就其抗衰老作用进行了实验研究。1　材料1.1　动物昆明种健康小鼠 ,由山西中医研究所动物研究室提供。1.2　药品活力隆胶囊 ,由河北医科大学中西医结合学院药理实验室提供 ,实验用浓度为每mL含有生药量 1g ;龟龄集由山西省中药厂提供 ,药用浓度为每mL含生药量 0 .0 6 g。2　方法与结果2 .1　对小鼠抓绳耐力和游泳耐力的影响 (小鼠抓绳实验法、游泳实验法[1] …     

人源性及牛源性乳铁蛋白抑制丙型肝炎病毒复制作用的对比研究

目的：探讨人乳铁蛋白(HLF)及牛乳铁蛋白(BLF)在体外HepG2细胞中对丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)感染增殖的抑制作用，为乳铁蛋白用于临床治疗HCV感染提供理论和实验依据。方法：以HepG2细胞作为HCV复制体系，以RT nPCR方法，测定培养细胞提取物中病毒正、负链，并用活性细胞定量鉴定法(MTT)对两种乳铁蛋白的细胞毒性作用及药物剂量进行研究。结果：细胞毒实验显示，实验中两种乳铁蛋白的浓度小于1.5 mg·mL 1时对HepG2细胞生存率无显著影响。HCV阳性血清接种HepG2细胞后，HCV正、负链可于第8，10，12天被检测到。当两种乳铁蛋白(浓度分别为1.5，1.0，0.5，0.1 mg·mL 1)先与HCV阳性血清作用后再接种细胞时，不同时期提取物中均未测定到HCV正、负链。而当乳铁蛋白(浓度同上)先与细胞作用后洗去再与HCV阳性血清作用时，不同时期细胞提取物中可测定到HCV正、负链。结论：乳铁蛋白能在非细胞毒性剂量时能防止HCV感染HepG2细胞；乳铁蛋白可能主要是通过与病毒颗粒本身相互作用发挥上述功能；两种来源的乳铁蛋白在体外抑制HCV复制的作用差异无显著性。     

Contribution of Cardiorespiratory Fitness to the Obesity Paradox

Until recently, cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) has been overlooked as a potential modifier of the inverse association between obesity and mortality (the so-called obesity paradox), observed in patients with known or suspected cardiovascular (CV) disease. Evidence from five observational cohort studies of 30,104 patients (87% male) with CV disease indicates that CRF significantly alters the obesity paradox. There is general agreement across studies that the obesity paradox persists among patients with low CRF, regardless of whether adiposity is assessed by body mass index, waist circumference, or percentage body fat. However, among patients with high CRF, risk of all-cause mortality is lowest for the overweight category in some, but not all, studies, suggesting that higher levels of fitness may modify the relationship between body fatness and survival in patients manifesting an obesity paradox. Further study is needed to better characterize the joint contribution of CRF and obesity on mortality in diverse populations.     

Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Older Adults

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is extremely common in older adults and the potential benefits of secondary prevention are perhaps greater in this population than in younger patients. While there is good evidence that secondary prevention efforts are justified in patients up to 80 years of age, limited data are available on secondary prevention in octogenarians and there is no evidence to guide treatment in patients ≥ 90 years of age. Further, the value of secondary prevention may be confounded by prevalent comorbidities, polypharmacy, and limited life expectancy. It is therefore essential that all management decisions be made in relation to individual preferences and goals of care, with understanding by patients that benefits as well as risks may increase with age. Furthermore, research is needed to refine markers to better delineate which older adults are most likely to benefit from preventive therapies.