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@#Autophagy is a “self-devouring” biological process of the degradation of organelles and proteins by lysosomes in eukaryotic cells. In the past few years, some results revealed that autophagy played an important role in the regulation of vascular calcification. This review summarized the recent studies on autophagy in the process of vascular calcification, and discussed the effects of electrolyte imbalance, matrix vesicle release, oxidative stress, inflammatory reaction of vascular endothelial cells, and lipid metabolism in autophagy. The research progress of β-catenin/AMPK/CREB/Nrf2-ARE/Erα signal transduction pathways in autophagy induction was reviewed.
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Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of conventional ultrasound and contrastenhanced ultrasound(CEUS) in calcified thyroid nodules.Methods 122 cases of calcified thyroid nodules confirmed by pathology were underwent conventional ultrasound and CEUS.The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive,negative predictive and diagnostic coincidence rate of conventional ultrasound and CEUS were evaluated.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to assess the differential diagnosis value of conventional ultrasound and CEUS in calcified thyroid nodules.Results There were 73 benign and 49 malignant nodules among 122 calcified thyroid nodules.The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive,negative predictive and diagnostic coincidence rate of conventional ultrasound were 49.98％,76.71％,58.54％,69.14％ and 65.57％,while for CEUS were 89.80％,91.78％,88.00％,93.06％ and 90.98％,respectively.There was statistical difference for each index between the two methods (all P ＜0.05).The area under ROC curve of CEUS was 0.908,which was bigger than conventional ultrasound.Conclusions Compared with conventional ultrasound,CEUS has higher value in differential diagnosis of benign and malignant calcified thyroid nodules.
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Objective To evaluate the value of the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules under the background of Hashimoto' s thyroiditis (HT) using contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS).Methods Ninety-three single thyroid nodules with HT confirmed by operations and pathology were given CEUS examination,and time-intensity curves were drawn by using TomTec analyzing software.The parameters as follows:rise time (RT),time to peak (TTP),mean transit time (mTT) and maximum intensity(IMAX) were compared by independent-samples t test,and the diagnostic value of parameters were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results In 93nodules,there were 56 benign thyroid nodules,and 37 malignant thyroid nodules.(1) After injection of contrast media,the enhancement and wash-out in benign nodules were mostly the same with peripheral gland,as well as the enhance intensity.Malignant nodules presented lower enhancement,with later rise time and earlier wash-out compared to peripheral gland.(2) mTT was longer,while IMAX was higher in benign nodules than those in malignant nodules (P ＜0.05).But there were no significant differences in RT or TTP between the two groups.(3) The cut-off value in diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules with HT assessed by ROC curve were mTT 21.70 s,IMAX 86.41％.When mTT,IMAX,and combination of the two parameters were used for the diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules with HT,the sensitivity were 86.5 ％,83.8 ％,97.3 ％ and the specificity were 69.6 ％,75.0 ％,48.2 ％,respectively.Conclusions CEUS is helpful to identify the benign and malignant thyroid nodules under the background of HT.
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Objective To investigate the different roles of two-dimensional,color Doppler ultrasound and real-time ultrasound elastography in the diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis(HT).Methods One hundred and forty-one patients clinically diagnosed as HT underwent traditional ultrasound and elastography.The patients were classified into three groups,the hyperthyroidism group,the hypothyroidism group and the euthyroidism group.One hundred and eight volunteers with normal thyroid functions were enrolled as control group.Ultrasonic characteristics (size,echo,accompanied nodules,blood flow distribution of thyroid) and thyroid elastic parameters were recorded and analyzed.Results ①Focal hypoechoic pattern was mainly seen in the group of HT hyperthyroidim,diffuse hypoechoic pattern was mainly seen in the groups of HT euthyroidism,diffuse hypoechoic pattern with heterogeneous linear hyperechoic and nodular changes were mainly seen in the HT hypothyroidism group.②Blood flow reduced according to the order by the hyperthyroidim group,euthyroidism group and hypothyroidism group.③Patients with HT hyperthyroidism had elastic image pattern Ⅰ.Patients with HT euthyroidism had pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ.Patients with HT hypothyroidism had pattern Ⅱ and pattern Ⅲ.④There were significant differences (P＜0.05) between the mean elastic strain and the ratio of the blue area in each group.Conclusions Real-time ultrasound elastography is helpful for the diagnosis of HT.