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Objective@#To investigate the prevalence and influencing factors of falls among elderly patients with comorbidity of chronic diseases in Chongqing Municipality, so as to provide insights into preventing measures of falls.@*Methods@#Elderly patients with comorbidity of chronic diseases admitted to a level A tertiary hospital of Chongqing Municipality from July 2022 to December 2022 were recruited. Participants' demographics, physical component and fall condition were collected using a questionnaire survey. Incidence of falls was descriptively analyzed, and factors affecting falls among elderly patients with comorbidity of chronic diseases were identified using a multivariable logistic regression model.@*Results@#A total of 344 questionnaires were allocated, and 338 valid questionnaires were recovered, with an effective rate of 98.26%. There were 195 men (57.69%) and 143 women (42.31%), with a mean age of (77.10±7.29) years. There were 171 (50.59%), 115 (34.02%), 38 (11.24%) and 14 (4.14%) patients suffering from 2, 3, 4 and 5 chronic diseases, respectively. The incidence of falls during recent six months was 22.49%. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified history of vertigo in last 6 months (OR=2.720, 95%CI: 1.409-5.249), fear of falling (OR=8.725, 95%CI: 4.572-16.653) and adaptation of living environments to ageing (OR=0.257, 95%CI: 0.130-0.509) as factors affecting elderly patients with comorbidity of chronic diseases.@*Conclusion@#The Elderly patients with comorbidity of chronic diseases who have a history of vertigo, fear of falling, and living environments that are not age-adapted are at higher risks of falls.
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Previous Chinese research revealed that diarsenic trioxide (As2O3) inhibits acute promyelocytic leukemia (PML) cell proliferation and initiates apoptosis through degradation of the PML-retinoic acid receptor protein. This study was to analyse whether As2O3 also had an effect on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. As2O3 effects on various HCC cell lines and primary HCC cells were investigated in time and dose series, including measurements of cell growth, PML mRNA and protein expression, xenografted tumor formation, and the self-renewal Oct4 and hepatocyte marker expressions in mouse model xenografts or cells treated with PML siRNA. The results were analyzed by immunocytochemistry, quantitative reverse transcription PCR and western blotting as well as indocyanine green and Periodic Acid Schiff staining. As2O3 inhibited HCC cell and HCC cell-derived xenograft tumor formation in a time-dependent manner and reduced PML protein expression in HCC cells, but had limited effects on PML mRNA levels in cell nuclei. The HCC cell line HuH7 treated with As2O3 showed a decreased expression of alpha-fetoprotein and increased expression and transcription of mature hepatocyte markers, indicating differentiation of HCC cells into hepatocytes. Cytokeratin 18 protein and mRNA levels as well as tyrosine aminotransferase and apolipoprotein B mRNA transcriptions were enhanced by As2O3 as were the numbers of indocyanine green and Periodic Acid Schiff stained cells. In addition, As2O3 downregulated the expression of Oct4. In conclusion, since As2O3 inhibited HCC cell proliferation and HCC cell-derived xenograft tumor formation it is suggested that an appropriate concentration of As2O3 might be a promising therapy to treat HCC.