Association between Maternal Weight Indicators and Iron Deficiency Anemia during Pregnancy: A Cohort Study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>Background</b>The effect of maternal weights on the risk of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) during pregnancy remains unclear. The study aimed to investigate the association between maternal weight indicators and IDA during pregnancy.</p><p><b>Methods</b>We conducted a cohort study to examine the association between maternal weight indicators, including prepregnancy body mass index and the rate of gestational weight gain (GWG), and the risk of IDA among Chinese pregnant women. Data about new-onset IDA at different trimesters from a national cross-sectional survey were collected; information regarding baseline variables and rate of GWG from women participating in the survey were retrospectively collected. Tested IDA and reported IDA were documented. Multilevel logistic regression to examine the association between maternal weight indicators and the risk of IDA after adjusting for potential confounders was conducted.</p><p><b>Results</b>This study enrolled 11,782 pregnant women from 24 hospitals from September 19, 2016, to November 20, 2016. Among those, 1515 (12.9%) IDA events were diagnosed through test (test IDA); 3915 (33.3%) were identified through test and patient reporting (composite IDA). After adjusting for confounders and cluster effect of hospitals, underweight pregnant women, compared with normal women, were associated with higher risk of test IDA (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-1.57 and composite IDA (aOR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.21-1.51); on the contrary, overweight and obese women had lower risk of test IDA (aOR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.54-0.86 overweight; aOR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.13-0.69 obese) and composite IDA (aOR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.67-0.90 overweight; aOR: 0.34, 95% CI: 0.21-0.55 obese). The higher rate of GWG was associated with higher risk of IDA (test aOR: 1.86 95% CI: 1.26-2.76; composite aOR: 1.54, 95% CI: 1.16-2.03).</p><p><b>Conclusions</b>Pregnant women who are underweight before pregnancy and who have faster GWG are more likely to develop IDA. Enforced weight control during pregnancy and use of iron supplements, particularly among underweight women, may be warranted.</p>

Percutaneous transhepatic biliary radiofrequency and endoprothesis: a new therapy for malignant biliary obstruction / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore a new approach to the management of malignant biliary obstruction using percutaneous transhepatic biliary radiofrequency and endoprothesis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Percutaneous transhepatic biliary radiofrequency and endoprothesis were performed in 2 cases of malignant biliary obstruction, including 1 of hilar cholangiocarcinoma and 1 of pancreatic head carcinoma. The tumor was ablated with radiofrequency followed by placement of matched metal stents into the biliary duct.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The surgical procedures were carried out smoothly in the 2 cases. The symptoms of the patients were obviously improved after the operation with a significant decrease in the serum levels of total bilirubin, and CA-199 level decreased to the normal level in 1 case.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This new approach is safe for management of malignant biliary obstruction. Compared with the more conventional interventional therapy, radiofrequency can reduce the intraoperative bleeding and arrest the local tumor growth to promote the patency of the stent as well as the postoperative survival of the patients.</p>

Preparation of a decellularized rat liver scaffold and its biocompatibility / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To develop a novel method for preparing decellularized liver biological scaffold (DLBS) for liver tissue engineering.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>DLBS was prepared by treatment of rat livers with detergent and enzymatic cell extraction and observed under optical and scanning electron microscopes. To assess the biocompatibility of the product, C3A cells and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cells (BM-MSCs) were cocultured with DLBS as the scaffold, and the effect of DLBS on the proliferation of C3A cells was evaluated by MTT assay. DLBS was also implanted under the dorsal skin of SD rats to evaluate the tissue biocompatibility of this material.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Application of the detergent and enzymatic extraction allowed full extraction of the cells in the liver, leaving an extracellular matrix scaffold composed mainly of collagen and elastic fibrin. The coculture experiment showed that C3A cells and BM-MSCs could grow on and adhere to DLBS. The result of MTT assay showed that DLBS could promote the proliferation of C3A cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>This cell-free DLBS, which retains intact extracellular matrix and promotes cell attachment, proliferation, growth and differentiation, can be an ideal biological matrix scaffold material.</p>

A rat model of focal lymph encephalopathy established by partial ligation of the cerebral superficial artery / 南方医科大学学报

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To establish a rat model of focal lymphatic encephalopathy by partial ligation of the cerebral superficial artery for observation of the changes of Virchow-Robin spaces (VRS).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Thirty male SD rats were randomized into 3 groups (n=10), including two model groups and a sham-operated group. The rats in the model groups were subjected to partial ligation of the cerebral superficial arteries under EEG monitoring to induce focal lymphatic encephalopathy, and those in the sham-operated group underwent only dissociation of the cerebral superficial artery without ligation. The rats in the two model groups were executed at 24 and 48 h, and those in the sham-operated group at 48 h following the operation, respectively. Frozen sections of the brain tissues were prepared for microscopic morphological observation and quantitative analysis of the VRS using HE staining and an image analysis system, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>EEG remained normal during the operations suggesting intact brain function. Partial ligation of the cerebral superficial arteries resulted in obvious dilation of the VRS in the cerebral cortex and subcortical medulla, and the tissues around the dilated VRSs appeared pale and structurally loosened. The two model groups showed significantly enlarged VRS areas as compared to the sham-operated group (P<0.01), but no significant differences were found in the mean VRS areas between the two model groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Partial dilation of the cerebral superficial artery is effective and convenient to induce focal lymphatic encephalopathy in rats, and this model can be ideal for studying focal cerebral lymph circulation.</p>

The Pvu II and Xba I polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor alpha gene in Chinese patients with severe preeclampsia / 中华医学遗传学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the allele and genotype frequencies of the estrogen receptor alpha ( ESR alpha) Pvu II and Xba I polymorphisms in patients with severe preeclampsia and compare them with those of normal pregnant women.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Blood samples from 131 patients with severe preeclampsia and 223 normal pregnant women from Chinese Han in Chengdu area were analyzed, using PCR-RFLP method. Pregnant patients with blood pressure exceeding 140/90 mmHg (or 18.7/12 kPa) were recruited with a strict definition of preeclampsia. Genotyping was performed using PCR-RFLP for Pvu II and Xba I polymorphisms in the ESR alpha gene.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The T and C allele frequencies for Pvu II site were 0.580 and 0.420 in the patient group, and 0.576 and 0.424 in the controls, respectively. The A and G allele frequencies for Xba I site were 0.763 and 0.237 in the patient group, and 0.807 and 0.193 in control group, respectively. No significant difference in the allele frequencies of either site was observed between the two groups. However, the CC homozygotes or CT heterozygotes in the control pregnant women had higher systolic blood pressure levels than TT homozygotes for Pvu II site after the data was adjusted for age and BMI (114.00+/-21.44 mmHg or 114.33+/-1.21 mmHg vs. 108.62+/-1.91 mmHg, P<0.05). No genotype effect on the blood pressures was found for Pvu II site in the case group, nor for Xba I site in either group.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Our work has excluded the association of the ESRalpha Pvu II and Xb I polymorphism with severe preeclampsia in a Southwest Chinese population, although this polymorphism may be associated with the systolic blood pressure level in the normal pregnant women.</p>