Environmental exposure to perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate in relation to chronic kidney disease in the general US population, NHANES 2005-2016 / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Few studies have explored the impact of perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate (PNT) on kidney function. This study aimed to evaluate the association of urinary levels of PNT with renal function as well as the prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) among the general population in the United States.@*METHODS@#This analysis included data from 13,373 adults (≥20 years) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2016. We used multivariable linear and logistic regression, to explore the associations of urinary PNT with kidney function. Restricted cubic splines were used to assess the potentially non-linear relationships between PNT exposure and outcomes.@*RESULTS@#After traditional creatinine adjustment, perchlorate (P-traditional) was positively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (adjusted β: 2.75; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.25 to 3.26; P  < 0.001), and negatively associated with urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) (adjusted β: -0.05; 95% CI: -0.07 to -0.02; P  = 0.001) in adjusted models. After both traditional and covariate-adjusted creatinine adjustment, urinary nitrate and thiocyanate were positively associated with eGFR (all P values <0.05), and negatively associated with ACR (all P values <0.05); higher nitrate or thiocyanate was associated with a lower risk of CKD (all P values <0.001). Moreover, there were L-shaped non-linear associations between nitrate, thiocyanate, and outcomes. In the adjusted models, for quartiles of PNT, statistically significant dose-response associations were observed in most relationships. Most results were consistent in the stratified and sensitivity analyses.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Exposures to PNT might be associated with kidney function, indicating a potential beneficial effect of environmental PNT exposure (especially nitrate and thiocyanate) on the human kidney.

Risk factors associated with the progression from keloids to severe keloids / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Keloids are benign fibrous growths that are caused by excessive tissue build-up. Severe keloids exert more significant effects on patients' quality of life than do mild keloids. We aimed to identify factors associated with the progression from mild keloids to severe keloids, as distinct from those associated with the formation of keloids.@*METHODS@#In this retrospective case-control study, 251 patients diagnosed with keloids at West China Hospital between November 2018 and April 2021 were grouped according to the severity of lesions (mild [n = 162] or severe [n = 89]). We collected their basic characteristics, living habits, incomes, comorbidities, and keloid characteristics from Electronic Medical Records in the hospital and the patients' interviews. Conditional multivariable regression was performed to identify the independent risk factors for the progression of keloids.@*RESULTS@#Eighty-nine patients (35.5%) were classified as having severe keloids. We found the distribution of severe keloids varied with sex, age, excessive scrubbing of keloids, family income, the comorbidity of rheumatism, disease duration, characteristics of the location, location in sites of high-stretch tension, the severity and frequency of pain, the severity of pruritus, and infection. Multivariable analysis revealed significant associations between severe keloids and infection (odds ratio [OR], 3.55; P = 0.005), excessive scrubbing of keloids (OR, 8.65; P = 0.001), low or middle family income (OR, 13.44; P = 0.021), comorbidity of rheumatism (OR, 18.97; P = 0.021), multiple keloids located at multiple sites (OR, 3.18; P = 0.033), and disease duration > 15 years (OR, 2.98; P = 0.046).@*CONCLUSION@#Doctors should implement more active and thorough measures to minimize the progression of mild keloids in patients who have any of the following risk factors: infection, excessive scrubbing of keloids, low or middle family income, comorbidity of rheumatism, multiple keloids located at multiple sites, and disease duration > 15 years.

Establishment of lectin-ELISA for sialylated fetuin-A and its diagnostic value in primary hepatocellular carcinoma / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:To establish a lectin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (lectin-ELISA) for the dection of sialylated fetuin-A and to explore the clinical diagnostic value of sialylated fetuin-A in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).Methods:From January 2017 to December 2020, 300 HCC patients and 160 disease controls, including 36 liver cirrhosis subgroups and 124 chronic hepatitis B subgroups, were collected from Shanghai Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital. At the same time, 100 healthy subjects were collected as healthy controls. Lectin-ELISA method for detecting sialylated fetuin A was established based on the principle that Sambucus nigra lectin (SNA) can recognize the structure of α-2, 6-linked sialic acid residues. Differences between groups were compared using t-test or analysis of variance. Logistic regression method was used to establish the multi-index joint detection model, and receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was used to evaluate the efficacy of single index and joint detection model in the diagnosis of HCC.Results:A lectin-ELISA method for the detection of serum Sia-fetuin A was established. The linear regression coefficient of the system was 0.978 5, and the precision evaluation and interference experiments were in line with the clinical detection requirements. Using this method to detect serum Sia-fetuin A levels in each group, the levels of HCC group, disease control group and healthy control group were 1.362±0.310, 1.199±0.370, 1.086±0.420, respectively, and the three groups decreased in turn. The areas under the curve of Sia-fetuin A, α-fetoprotein, and their combined detection models for differential diagnosis of HCC were 0.790, 0.809, and 0.860, respectively. The diagnostic model had a sensitivity of 79.3% (238/300) and a specificity of 95.0% (247/260). Among the 300 patients in the HCC group, 138 (46%) patients were negative for serum AFP (<20 μg/L), and their serum Sia-fetuin A level was 1.364±0.305. Combining the disease control group and the healthy control group into the non-Cancer group, the serum Sia-fetuin A level was 1.146±0.381. The serum level of Sia-fetuin A in AFP-negative HCC patients was higher than that in non-HCC group ( t=6.134, P<0.001). The areas under the curve of Sia-fetuin A and the combined diagnostic model for the diagnosis of AFP-negative HCC were 0.776 and 0.919, respectively. The combined diagnostic model had a sensitivity of 93.4% (129/138) and a specificity of 77.3% (201/260). Conclusion:Serum Sia-fetuin A and combined determination model can provide a new auxiliary diagnostic index for AFP-negative HCC.

The diagnosis, treatment and prevention of dysuria within 6 months after suprapubic transvesicle prostatectomy / 中国综合临床

Objective To summarize the diagnosis,treatment and prevention of dysuria within 6 months after the suprapubic transvesical prostatectomy. Methods Twenty-four cases were retrospectively reviewed,including the data on the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. Results Twenty-one of the 24 cases had received surgery. There were 9 cases with bladder neck stricture,9 cases with posterior urethra stricture and 3 cases with of remnant glands. Nine cases received transurethral bladder neck incision, 9 received open surgery ( bladder neck,posterior urethral incision) and 3 received transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) plus bladder neck incision. The other 3 diagnosed as detrusor weakness were conservatively treated by indwelling catheter and they were improved one months later. None of these patients was readmitted into hospital for dysuria within 6 months after treatment. Conclusion The recurrence of dysuria post prostatectomy mostly ( 75% ) occurred within 6 months after surgery. A majority of these patients need a second surgery. To avoid a second surgery for postoperative dysuria, much attention should be paid to the operating technique and postoperative management.

Adenovirus-active matrix metalloproteinase-2 cDNA affects human proliferating hemangioma growth in nude mice An in vivo experiment / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND: Evidence exists that inhibition of matrix metanoproteinase-2(MMP-2) secretion in the proliferating hernangioma tissue by transfection of adenovirus-active MMP-2(Ad-aMMP-2) cDNA would become an important means for treatment of proliferating hemangioma.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influences of Ad-aMMP-2 cDNA transfection on human proliferating hemangioma growth in nude mice.DESIGN, TIME AND SETTING: A randomized, grouping, and controlled observation was performed in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between August 2003 and September 2004.MATERIALS: Eighteen BALB/c-nu/nu nude mice, weighing approximately 20 g, were included. Cavernous hemangioma specimen pathologically confirmed as proliferating hemangioma was resected from one 52-day-old female child patient.METHODS: The freshly reseoted human proliferating hemangioma specimen was sliced into small pieces with a size of 5 mm×4 mm×3 mm and subcutaneously implanted into the back of 18 nude mice within 1 hour to develop mouse models of hemangioma.Forty-five days after hemangioma implantation, 15 successful hemangioma nude mice were treated by intratumoral administration of adenovirus green fluorescent protein (Ad-GFP1 n = 51 Ad-GFP group), adenovirus-active MMP-2 (n = 5, Ad-aMMP-2 group), or the same amount of phosphate buffered saline (PBS1 n = 51 control group). Intratumoral administration was performed once every other day, for a total of 4 times.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Observation of tumor volume and compadson of tumor necrosis area among 3 groups; detection of GFP expression in nude mouse; gross, hematoxylin-eosin staining, and transmission etectron microscope observation of tumor tissue morphology; determination of MMP-2 cDNA expression and microvascular density by immunohistochemistry; and detection of growth cycle and apoptosis of tumor cells by flow cytometry.RESULTS:①Ad-aMMP-2 could inhibit hemangioma growth in vivo, without marked adverse reactions. Tumor necrosis of different degrees was found in each group, and tumor necrosis area was significantly greater in the Ad-aMMP-2 group than in the control and Ad-GFP groups (P < 0.01). ②Histological sections displayed GFP gene expression in the Ad-GFP group. ③Gross observation results revealed relatively large tumor tissue in the control and Ad-GFP groups and relatively small tumor tissue in the Ad-aMMP-2 group. Hernatoxylin-eosin staining results showed that in the control and Ad-GFP groups, endothelial cells aggregated together in strip-shaped or lump-shaped appearance, and in the Ad-aMMP-2 group, there were many necrotic loci arranging in lamellar-shape appearance. Transmission electron microscope results revealed vascular endothelial cells with normal morphology in the control group and tumor cells with apparent nucleoli in the Ad-GFP group, while in the Ad-aMMP-2 group, some vascular endothelial cells exhibited chromatin pycnosis in the nucleus, forming apoptotic bodies.④ MMP-2 expression and microvascular density were significantly reduced in the Ad-aMMP-2 group than in the Ad-GFP and control groups (P < 0.05). ⑤The percentage of tumor cells in G0/G1 phase was significantly higher (P < 0.05), while the proliferating index was significantly decreased, in the Ad-aMMP-2 group than in the Ad-GFP and control groups. The Ad-aMMP-2 group exhibited higher apoptosis rate of tumor cells (P < 0.05), as well as more markedly increasing apoptosis index, than the control and Ad-GFP groups.CONCLUSION: It is feasible to block human proliferating hemangioma growth by transfeotion of Ad-aMMP-2 cDNA. The included mechanisms are to inhibit vascular endothelial cells to secrete MMP-21 thereby leading to local ischemia.

Treatment of sacrococcygeal decubitus ulcers by two period operations of myocutaneous flap transposition:Reports of 19 cases / 中国组织工程研究

AIM:Researches have shown that musculocutaneous flap or fascial flap could well treat refractory bedsore in a long term. This study observed the clinical experience in the treatment of sacrococcygeal ulcers. METHODS:From January 2000 to January 2006,19 patients with sacrococcygeal ulcers,who received myocutaneous flap transposition in Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery,West China Hospital of Sichuan University,were selected. The informed consent was obtained from all patients. The surgery included two stages. At the first stage,debridement and eschar excision were performed. At the second stage,the surgery was undergone after selecting the myocutaneous flap type according to the patients' age,ulcer position,and ulcer extent. Twenty-one wounds were repaired by gluteus maximus myocutaneous flaps,and the flap size was 13 cm ?11 cm-17 cm?14 cm;8 by long-head of biceps femoris flaps of 10 cm?6 cm-13 cm?6 cm. After operation,the patients were placed on turn-over bed for 14 days and followed regularly. RESULTS:All flaps survived and the wounds in 18 cases healed at the first stage. Hematocele underlying flap occurred in one patient with urinemia,and healed by dressing exchange. After a follow-up of 5 months to 3 years,no patient had a recurrence;the color and texture of the flaps were good,and he appearance was satisfactory. CONCLUSION:The technique of two period operation treatment of myocutaneous flap transposition can accelerate the healing of sacrococcygeal ulcers and improves the success rate of operation.