Contrast-enhanced CT histogram analysis in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules / 中国医学影像技术

Objective: To explore the value of histogram features based on plain and enhanced CT for differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Methods: A total of 132 patients with 140 thyroid nodules confirmed by postoperative pathology were retrospectively analyzed. The level with the largest axial focus was selected, and then Mazda software was used to sketch ROI along the edge of focus and perform histogram analysis to obtain 9 parameters. The parameters were compared between benign and malignant nodules, and then statistically significant gray-scale histogram parameters were used to analyze their value of differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules. Results: On plain CT, the mean value, the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles of malignant nodules were higher than those of benign ones (all P0.05). Among the parameters of CT plain and enhanced histogram, the 10th percentile AUC was the highest of 0.68, and the sensitivity of identifying benign and malignant thyroid nodules was 74.32%,and specificity was 62.12%. Conclusion: CT histogram analysis can be used as an important auxiliary means to identify benign and malignant thyroid nodules.

Meta-analysis on safety and efficacy of dual antiplatelet therapy combining with proton pump inhibitors for patients after percutaneous coronary intervention / 中华心血管病杂志

Objective@#To analyze the impact of dual antiplatelet (DAPT) therapy combining with or without proton pump inhibitors (PPI) on the main outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).@*Methods@#The PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant literature and the references obtained from these sources were retrieved manually from inception till September 2017. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were established follow the Cochrane review standard. A total of 977 literatures were included, 193 duplicates were excluded, 74 reviews, case reports, letters and systematic reviews were excluded, 667 literatures were excluded after reading the title and abstract, 34 literatures were excluded due to non-randomized control studies and unrelated outcome indicators, and 9 literatures were finally included with a total of 16 589 patients. RevMan 5.3 software was used to compare the incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), cardiogenic death, recurrent myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, all-cause death, stent thrombosis, stroke, gastrointestinal bleeding and gastrointestinal events in patients with DAPT combining with or without PPI after PCI.@*Results@#MACE was observed in 8 out of the 9 included literatures, and the results showed that MACE occurred in 561 out of 6 282 patients receiving DAPT combining with PPI therapy and in 951 out of 9 632 patients using DAPT alone (OR=1.15, 95%CI 0.88-1.51, P>0.05). Cardiogenic death was observed in 7 out of the 9 included literatures, and the results showed that cardiogenic death occurred in 172 out of 6 453 patients receiving DAPT combining with PPI treatment and in 321 out of the 9 839 patients using DAPT alone (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.80-1.18, P>0.05). Recurrent myocardial infarction was observed in 7 out of the 9 included literatures, the results showed 416 out of 6 282 cases in DAPT combining with PPI therapy group experienced recurrent myocardial infarction and 691 out of 9 632 cases in DAPT group experienced recurrent myocardial infarction (OR=1.01, 95%CI 0.89-1.16, P>0.05). Four out of 9 literatures observed revascularization. The results showed that revascularization was performed in 64 out of 2 173 patients receiving DAPT combining with PPI therapy and in 105 out of the 2 770 patients using DAPT alone (OR=1.33, 95%CI 0.55-3.24, P>0.05). All-cause death was observed in 7 out of the 9 included literatures, and the results showed that all-cause death occurred in 172 out of the 6 453 patients in DAPT combining with PPI therapy group and in 321 out of the 9 839 patients using DAPT alone (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.80-1.18, P>0.05). Three out of the 9 included articles observed stent thrombosis, and the results showed that stent thrombosis occurred in 99 out of 2 997 patients receiving DAPT combining with PPI therapy and in 245 out of the 6 198 patients treated with DAPT (OR=1.07, 95%CI 0.83-1.37, P>0.05). Stroke was observed in 2 out of the 9 included literatures. The results showed that stroke occurred in 5 out of 2 019 patients receiving DAPT combining with PPI therapy, and in 4 out of the 2 033 patients treated with DAPT (OR=1.00, 95%CI 0.29-3.49, P>0.05). Gastrointestinal bleeding was observed in 6 out of the 9 included literatures. The results showed that gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in 26 out of 3 517 patients receiving DAPT combined with PPI therapy, and in 93 out of the 3 506 patients treated with DAPT, gastrointestinal bleeding was significantly lower in the DAPT combining with PPI group than DAPT alone group (OR=0.27, 95%CI 0.17-0.41, P<0.01). Gastrointestinal events were reported in 6 out of the 9 included articles. Similarly, gastrointestinal events were observed in 51 out of 3 517 patients receiving DAPT combined with PPI therapy, and in 190 out of the 3 506 patients treated with DAPT alone, the incidence of gastrointestinal events in the DAPT combined with PPI group was significantly lower than DAPT alone group (OR=0.24, 95%CI 0.14-0.42, P<0.01).@*Conclusions@#The incidence of MACE, cardiogenic death, recurrent myocardial infarction, target vessel revascularization, all-cause death, stent thrombosis and stroke are not affected by DAPT combined with PPI therapy after PCI, while the incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and gastrointestinal events could be reduced by adding PPI to DAPT in patients undergoing PCI.

Esophageal covered stent treatment for gastroesophageal cervical anastomotic fistula / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the effectiveness and safety of esophageal covered stent for the treatment of esophagogastric cervical anastomotic fistula. Methods Retrospective analysis of clinical and imaging data of patients with esophageal and gastric anastomotic neck fistula treated by esophageal membrane stent implantation in the Affiliated Tumor Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2015 to June 2018. Twenty‐one cases, 15 males and 6 females were enrolled. All patients showed fistula after esophagogastrostomy for esophageal carcinoma. All the fistulas were located in the cervical segment of esophagus and were diagnosed as anastomotic fistula 2 to 13 days after surgery. The length of esophagus residue, the position and size of the fistula were measured by esophagography. We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with cervical anastomotic fistula treated with esophageal covered stent. Patients were followed up for more than 6 months by review and telephone follow‐up. Results In the 21 patients, 19 (90.5%) were successfully implanted stents at one time, and 2 (9.5%) were placed at a lower position. The esophageal stent was implanted for 10 to 60 days (31±19) days, and the stent was successfully removed after the fistula healed, with a procedure time of 6 to 23 minutes. No recurrence of fistula was found during follow‐up. Four patients had anastomotic scar stenosis, and eating smoothly after balloon dilatation. Conclusion Esophageal covered stent implantation is a safe and effective technique for gastroesophageal cervical anastomotic fistula.

Interventional treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatic arterio-portal shunts:comparision of ethanol-soaked gelatin sponge and gelatin sponge / 中华放射学杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of embolization with ethanol-soaked gelatin sponge for the treatment of arterioportal shunting (APS) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods From January 2016 to June 2017, a total of 78 patients with unresectable HCC were enrolled in this study. These patients were randomly divided into two groups by digital random method. The experimental group (n=39) received transarterial embolization of the shunt with ethanol-soaked gelatin sponge, while the control group (n=39) received only gelatin sponge shunt. Both of the two groups underwent transarterial chemoembolization if available. Changes in APS, tumor response (according to modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumor), changes in Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), and haemodynamics changes of the portal vein were analyzed. χ2 test and t test were used to compare the differences of qualitative and quantitative parameters between two groups. The APS grades were compared between the two groups before treatment and 2 months after treatment using rank sum test. Results Six patients were lost during the 2-month follow-up, and 72 patients were followed up, which include 38 patients in the experimental group and 34 patients in the control group. Compared to (14/34), the experimental group (25/38) has higher The APS improvement rates of the experimental group and the control group were 65.8％(25/38) and 41.2％(14/34), and there was significant difference (χ2=4.379, P<0.05). Of the 72 patients, 66 cases were conform to modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumor, which include 35 patients in the experimental group and 31 patients in the control group. Tumor response at 2 months of the experimental group and the control group were 57.1％(20/35) and 32.3％(10/31), and there was significant difference (χ2=4.106, P<0.05). The ECOG score was significantly decreased from 2 points to ≤1 point in 19 cases in the experimental group, while 12 cases in the control group (χ2=6.894, P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the diameter of the portal vein dropped significantly (t=2.082, P<0.05), while the blood flow velocity of portal vein increased (t=2.219, P<0.05) obviously in the experimental group 1 month after treatment. Conclusion Tansarterial embolization with ethanol-soaked gelatin sponge can effectively improve APS improvement rate, and quality of life of patients with unresectable HCC accompanied with APS.

Mechanistic and therapeutic advances in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by targeting the gut microbiota / 医学前沿

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common metabolic diseases currently in the context of obesity worldwide, which contains a spectrum of chronic liver diseases, including hepatic steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and hepatic carcinoma. In addition to the classical "Two-hit" theory, NAFLD has been recognized as a typical gut microbiota-related disease because of the intricate role of gut microbiota in maintaining human health and disease formation. Moreover, gut microbiota is even regarded as a "metabolic organ" that play complementary roles to that of liver in many aspects. The mechanisms underlying gut microbiota-mediated development of NAFLD include modulation of host energy metabolism, insulin sensitivity, and bile acid and choline metabolism. As a result, gut microbiota have been emerging as a novel therapeutic target for NAFLD by manipulating it in various ways, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, antibiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and herbal components. In this review, we summarized the most recent advances in gut microbiota-mediated mechanisms, as well as gut microbiota-targeted therapies on NAFLD.

Prognostic factors of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for primary hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国介入影像与治疗学

Objective To investigate the prognostic factors of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) in the treatment of primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on 326 HCC patients treated with TACE.Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the 1-year,2-year and 3-year cumulative survival rates.Log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards model were used to analyze univariate and multivariate prognostic factors,respectively.Results The 1-year,2-year and 3-year cumulative survival rate of HCC patient was 73.90％,40.20％and 22.20％,respectively.The median survival time was 21 months.Univariate analysis showed that the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP),gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT),tumor size,tumor number,Child-Pugh grade,Barcelona clinic liver cancer (BCLC) stage,portal vein thrombosis,arteriovenous fistula and distant metastasis were factors affecting the prognosis of HCC patient (all P＜0.05).Multivariate COX regression analysis showed that AFP,GGT,tumor size,tumor number,BCLC stage,arteriovenous fistula were the independent prognostic factors of HCC patients (all P＜0.05).Conclusion AFP,GGT,tumor size,tumor number,BCLC stage and arteriovenous fistula are independent prognostic factors of HCC patients treated with TACE.

The value of 125iodine implantation combining transcatheter arterial chemoembolization to prevent digestive tract bleeding in patients with portal vein tumor thrombus in primary hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华放射学杂志

Objective This study was to investigate the value of CT guided 125iodine implantation combining transcatheter arterial chemoembolization(TACE) to prevent digestive tract bleeding in patients with portal vein tumor thrombus in primary hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Forty patients with portal vein tumor thrombus which were diagnosed to have primary hepatocellular carcinomas by diagnostic criteria of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association were collected prospectively. They were divided into the treatment group and the control group, with 20 patients in each group. The treatment group was treated by TACE for hepatic tumor and 125iodine seed implantation for portal vein tumor thrombus, while the control group was treated by TACE for hepatic tumor and only given β-blockers medicines after treatment. Intraoperative and postoperative surgery-related complications were observed. Three months after surgery, enhanced abdominal CT scanning was performed to evaluate treatment effects which were divided into complete response (CR), partial response (PR), and progressive disease (PD) and stable of disease (SD), and the local tumor control rates were calculated. The bleeding rates and mortality after 3 months, 6 months, 12 months were recorded. Treatment effects of the two groups were compared with continuously correction Chi-square test, bleeding rates were compared with Fisher test, and survival rates were analyzed with Kaplan-Meier survival curve and compared with Log-rank test. Results Overall the 40 patients were treated successfully without serious surgery-related complications. In the treatment group, there were 8 patients with PR, 6 with SD and 6 with PD, and the local control rates were 40% (8/20). In the control group, there were 1 patient with PR, 6 patients with SD and 13 with PD. The difference of the local control rates was statistically significant (χ2=5.161, P=0.023).The bleeding rates at 3, 6 and 12 months were 2, 2 and 3 cases in the treatment group, for control group they were 2, 6 and 10 cases respectively. There was no statistical difference between the 3 months and 6 months bleeding rates (P values were 1.000 and 0.235), but for 12 months bleeding rates, the difference was statistically significant (P=0.041).The 1 year cumulative survival rates of the treatment group and control group were 70% (14/20) and 40% (8/20), and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=4.675, P=0.031). Conclusion The treatment of 125iodine implantation combining transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in patients with portal vein tumor thrombus in primary hepatocellular carcinoma can reduce variceal bleeding rate and improve survival rate.

Expression of RASAL2 in hepatocellular carcinoma and the clinical significance / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVE@#To detect the expression of RA SAL2 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to investigate the association of RASAL2 expression with pathological characteristics and prognosis.@*METHODS@#Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expression of RA SAL2 in 164 samples of HCC tissue and the adjacent tissue. Th e association of RA SAL2 expression with clinical features and prognosis was analyzed.@*RESULTS@#The expression of RASAL2 in adjacent tissue was significantly increased compared to that in HCC tissue (P0.05). The 5 years recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with low expression of RASLA2 was significantly reduced compared with that in patients with high expression of RASLA2 (P<0.001). Cox analysis showed that low expression of RASLA2 was the independent factor for recurrence and death in HCC patients after surgery (P<0.001).@*CONCLUSION@#Low expression of RRASAL2 is significantly associated with the poor prognosis of HCC, which is an independent factor for HCC prognosis.

Effect of glimepiride on the glucose uptake of rat mandibular osteoblasts in hyperglycemia / 华西口腔医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of glimepiride on the glucose uptake as well as glucose transporter (GLUT)-1 and GLUT-3 expression levels of rat mandibular osteoblasts in hyperglycemia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Primary osteoblasts were isolated and cultured. Then, the cells were placed in an osteogenic medium containing two glucose concentrations (5.5 and 16.5 mmol X L(-1)), with or without glimepiride (10 micromol x L(-1)). Glucose uptake was determined by employing 18F-deoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in the cells, and GLUT-1 and GLUT-3 expression levels were evaluated by Western blot analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Glucose at 16.5 mmol x L(-1) significantly inhibited 18F-FDG uptake and downregulated GLUT-3 protein expression in osteoblasts. Hyperglycemia increased GLUT-1 protein expression. Glimepiride significantly increased glucose uptake and upregulated GLUT-1 and GLUT-3.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Glimepiride enhance the glucose transporter in rat osteoblasts at two different glucose concentrations.</p>

Correlation between the expression of C-terminal tensin-like protein and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Objective: To explore the correlation between the expression of C-terminal tensin-like protein (CTEN) and the prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Using immunohistochemistry, we detected CTEN protein level in samples of primary lesion and adjacent non-tumor lesion collected from 240 patients with HCC. The relationship between CTEN expression and clinicopathology, 5 year recurrent-free survival, or overall survival was evaluated by Chi-square test, Kaplan-Meier, or Cox regression analysis. Results: High CTEN expression was detected in 55% of hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and 20%of adjacent carcinoma tissues (P<0.001). CTEN expression was positively correlated with tumor diameter (P=0.022), venous invasion (P=0.007) or TNM stages (P=0.022). Five-year recurrence-free survival time (P<0.001) and overall survival time (P<0.001) in patients with high CTEN expression were signiifcantly less than those in patients with low CTEN expression. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the CTEN expression was an independent prognostic marker for HCC (all P<0.05). Conclusion: CTEN protein may play a role in the genesis and development of HCC, and it can function as a prognostic marker.

Relation between mismatch repair genes and colon cancer / 中南大学学报(医学版)

Mismatch repair (MMR) system is one form of DNA repair mechanisms, which plays an important role in rectifying the mismatch of base pairs, reducing gene mutations and keeping genome stability. Abnormal expression of MMR regulated by miRNA is closely related to the development of colon cancer. Functional defects of MMR (dMMR) with particular clinical characteristics can be used as a potential prognostic and predictive biomarker. This article reviews the relation between MMR system, miRNA and colon cancer.

Selection of the treatment strategies of myelodysplastic syndromes based on clone category / 白血病·淋巴瘤

Myelodysplastic syndromes(MDS) are heterogeneous clonal stem cell disorders.There are about 40 ％-60 ％ MDS patients with abnormal karyotype.To analyze the clone category is not only useful for diagnosis and evaluating prognosis,but also helpful for the selection of optimal therapy strategies to improve the treatment efficacy.

Caffeoylquinic acid derivatives from leaves of Lonicera japonica / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the caffeoylquinic acid derivatives from the leaves of Lonicera japonica.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The compounds were isolated by column chromatography and identified on the basis of physico-chemical constants and spectral analysis.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Five caffeoylquinic acid derivatives were isolated,and their structures were identified as 3,4-di-O-caffeoyl quinic acid methyl ester (1), 5-O-caffeoyl quinic acid methyl ester (2), 3,4-di-O-caffeoyl quinic acid (3), 1,3-di-O-caffeoyl quinic acid (4) and chlorogenic acid (5), respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compounds 2, 4 were obtained from this genus for the first time. Compounds 1, 3 were obtained from this plant for the first time.</p>